


Of Love And Literature

by Star55



Category: Glee
Genre: Kurt is 18 though, M/M, Student/teacher relationship, and Blaine is older
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-29
Updated: 2012-11-09
Packaged: 2017-11-17 06:49:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 54,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/548771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Star55/pseuds/Star55
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kurt Hummel started his senior year at Dalton Academy for Boys, he expected it to be normal. He would attend class, get good grades and graduate, all while being subjected to his two best friends being absolutely smitten with each other. He didn’t expect, however, to fall in love with his English teacher.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Warnings:** This is, first and foremost, a love story. However, this is also a love story between a teacher and a student. Please, if this is not your cup of tea, don’t read. There isn’t any kind of abuse and there is _no_ non-con. The sexual acts, that happen in later chapters, are fully consensual. Kurt is 18 years old in this story and that is the legal age of consent. The fact that he is with a teacher, however, makes it illegal. There are mentions, of homophobia but there is nothing graphic about those details.  
>  This story was also 99.9% written before season 3 spoilers started and way before season 3 even started. Season 3 is not canon at all.
> 
>  **A/N:** First parts first, I am an Aussie and while I’ve had about 4 people look over this fic so far, I can’t bear to part ways with my beloved ‘s’ in words like ‘realised. I did, however (and rather painfully), change all the ‘mum’ words to ‘mom’ (because I’m trying to grow, and this _is_ an American fandom base), so I’m quite proud of that fact! I wanted to give a massive thank you to a few special people who looked over this story, listened to my incessant questions about American schooling systems, how things are done and why and many, many other countless ranting post on my LiveJournal, including why on Earth I thought it was so amusing that Washington DC wasn’t even IN Washington, the state.
> 
> So, a massive, _massive_ thank you goes to my betas (all LJ people): smash_leigh, fincalian, slayerkitty, and n_nanini. I also wanted to thank hengilas, kaytee412 and nowheretogo26 for being my personal cheerleaders pretty much for the duration of me writing this fic (it took longer than it should have). Especially to hengilas for listening to me babble for _hours_ on Skype while I wrote a page by page plan of what was going to happen in this story. 
> 
> Also, this story was originally posted at my writing journal scripted_star on livejournal last year. ♥

There was something about walking up the front steps into Dalton Academy that felt like coming home. While the school was Kurt Hummel’s home on weekdays, he had never really thought of it as ‘home’ until now. Everything was exactly the same as it had been before summer break and a small part of him had imagined it always would. He pushed open the heavy oak doors and stepped into the entrance hall. 

Kurt stopped in the middle of the hall and turned in a slow circle, taking everything in, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Home, sweet home,” he muttered to himself. 

He had about half an hour to himself before his dad, step mother and step brother arrived with the rest of his stuff from their hometown of Lima. Kurt wandered up the staircase to his right towards the dorms. He was thankful that nothing had changed with his assigned room mate because he rather liked sharing a room with the blonde, bubbly, happy and extremely nerdy Jeff Galven. 

They almost had completely opposite personalities but Kurt thought that it helped their relationship rather than hindered it. The good thing about having Jeff as a room mate was that they knew each other better than anyone else. They knew when to leave each other alone, when to stay, when to keep quiet, when to distract each other from whatever task they were doing. Best of all, they were both gay, so talking about boys was like talking about the weather between them. 

Jeff was an only child, like Kurt had been until his dad re-married, but Jeff was far from a spoiled rich kid like half of the students at Dalton. Jeff’s parents were both doctors and they worked long, hard hours, which often started in the middle of the night and didn’t finish until the afternoon. Even though Jeff’s family lived in Columbus, he boarded at Dalton during the week. It made it easier on him as well as his parents. 

Jeff didn’t mind though. He told Kurt the first time they met that it was better for him because he got to see his friends whenever he wanted to, rather than having to wait to go visit someone. The best part for Jeff was that his boyfriend, Nick Ward, also boarded at Dalton. 

Nick and Jeff had been best friends since birth. Nick was born on February third while Jeff was born on the sixth. Their parents were friends, which led to Jeff and Nick being friends as well. Nick’s father had gone to Dalton with Jeff’s own when they were in school and they had kept in close contact. Nick’s family also lived in Columbus and his father was a lawyer while his mother was a university professor. Nick had four sisters - two were older than he was and had already left home, and then there were the twins who were ten years old. 

When it came to choosing whether to be a day student at Dalton or board, Nick had immediately chosen to board. Not only would it mean he was with his best friend all of the time but it also was what his father had done. His dad had always told him that boarding at Dalton was the best part of the experience so Nick hadn’t hesitated in giving his preference. 

Kurt transferred to Dalton before the Christmas of his junior year. The bullying at his old school in Lima had got too much for him and it was the safest option for him at the time. He had been put into sharing a room with Jeff, affectionately nicknamed one of “Dalton’s Sweethearts” by his peers and some of the teachers. They had thought it was best that Kurt room with someone who knew what he was going through. The no bullying policy at Dalton had been a godsend and to have a gay room mate on top of that had helped Kurt in ways that he didn’t even believe were possible. 

He was certain that the faculty or principal wouldn’t dare put him in a dorm room with another gay student but Jeff was a prefect, so they expected a certain level of decorum from him. That and he and Nick had been officially boyfriends since their first year of Dalton and neither of them had ever been tempted before so it didn’t look like putting Kurt with Jeff would break them up either. That’s what Jeff had told Kurt when he had asked, at least. 

As he reached his dorm door, Kurt pulled out the key. He slipped it into the lock and turned the handle, entering his room for the first time since the beginning of June. He smiled to himself, seeing the fresh linens on both of the beds as well as the completely empty workspaces and wardrobes. Kurt set down his bag at the foot of his bed before perching on the end. He gave into temptation and laid back, letting his legs dangle off the end of the bed while he stared up at the ceiling.

He was so glad to be back, even if it was his senior year.

“Kurtsie!”

“Galven, if you call me that again, I’m going to break up with Nick for you,” Kurt said, sitting up again, a large grin on his face despite the threat.

Jeff crossed the room in two strides and pulled Kurt into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you, man.”

“It’s only been three weeks since we last saw each other,” Kurt commented but didn’t loosen his hold at all.

“Still,” Jeff mumbled before pulling back. He gently squeezed Kurt’s upper arm affectionately and immediately launched into an epic tale of how he single handedly saved Nick from imminent doom by rescuing him from his twin sisters.

“It was a sacrifice I had to make,” Jeff said, flopping back onto his bed. “My poor Nicky was being subjected to,” he paused for dramatic effect, “ _the Biebs._ ”

Kurt snorted and shook his head. “I am so glad that Finn isn’t a teenage girl. Or a girl at all,” he said. “That’s something I don’t think I could stomach even on a _good_ day.”

Jeff grinned widely at him and opened his mouth to talk when another figure entered their room.

“He didn’t save me,” Nick started, moving to sit on the end of Jeff’s bed, reaching over to punch him in the thigh. “I took the twins to a Bieber concert this summer. It was awful for me but they loved it. And what Jeff _didn’t_ tell you is that he came along.”

Kurt looked over at Jeff who was trying to feign ignorance. 

“And he _liked_ it,” Nick continued. “He knew all the words to both _Baby_ and _Somebody to Love._ ”

“That actually isn’t hard,” Jeff protested. “It’s the same thing over and over and over again.”

“Stop while you’re ahead, Jeff,” Nick said, unable to stop grinning.

“I hate you, we’re breaking up,” Jeff said with a pout.

“So, how was your summer?” Nick asked, turning to Kurt once more, lacing his fingers with Jeff’s own on his thigh.

“It wasn’t as exciting as yours, by the sounds of it,” Kurt commented. “I mostly worked at the shop with my dad. He had me teaching Finn how to do oil changes and change tires.”

Jeff crinkled his nose. “Eww, that sounds messy.”

“Oh, it is,” Kurt replied. “And when I wasn’t in the shop, I was writing my musical.”

They spent the next twenty minutes catching up before Kurt’s family arrived to help him with the rest of his clothes and school supplies that he couldn’t fit into his own car. Jeff left with Nick to help him unpack while Kurt spent his last afternoon with his family.

“We should leave if we want to make our reservation at the restaurant,” Carole said.

“Sure,” Kurt nodded. “I just need to change. I’ll meet you in the senior commons in a few minutes.”

“Don’t be too long,” Burt said, closing the door behind them as they left.

Kurt quickly changed into appropriate attire for dining out and he spent five minutes fixing his hair in the bathroom mirror before leaving the room, locking the door behind him. 

He had been the one to suggest they go out to dinner after Kurt arrived back at Dalton since they wouldn’t see him for at least the first two weeks of school while he settled back into routine and got used to the course load. Carole had immediately loved the idea, Finn was automatically on board at the mention of ‘food’ and Burt had been the one to pick a nice, Italian restaurant that they could all enjoy. 

They arrived at the restaurant a little while later and Kurt realised just how much he was going to miss his family this year. Senior year was going to be tough and it was likely he would have to spend some weekends at Dalton just to keep on top of his workload. 

“I want you to know you can come home at any time you want, alright?” Burt said to Kurt as they waited for their meals to arrive.

“I know, Dad,” Kurt said with a small smile. “I’ll be home as often as I can. Can’t let Finn here get all of the good cars.” He threw a wink to his step brother and Finn just grinned. 

“By the time you get home for Christmas, I’ll be as good as you,” Finn said confidently. “If Burt will let me in the shop, that is.”

Kurt grinned. “Just don’t break anything.”

They chatted over dinner, and Kurt tried desperately not to look at Finn eating an entire pizza to himself. He loved his brother but he didn’t understand how he could _eat_ so much and so _often_. Kurt was kind of glad that Finn didn’t go to Dalton with him. He was sure that Finn would definitely take advantage of the ‘all you can eat’ dinners in their lovely dining hall.

Kurt watched his family as they ate and chatted and couldn’t help but smile. Before Carole, it was just he and his dad and he had always thought they were fine. It was ‘Burt and Kurt’ against the world. With Carole and Finn though? They were a _family_. Something that Kurt had longed for since his mother had passed away when he was six. He knew their family was odd to some people, with him and Finn being born six months apart, Kurt older, but to them, it was the best family anyone could have ever hoped for. 

“Who wants dessert?” Carole asked after everyone had finished.

“Me!” Finn replied immediately and Kurt couldn’t help but smile. 

They each had a slice of cherry pie and Finn had extra cream on his. Kurt wrinkled his nose in distaste but figured he wouldn’t be seeing the eating habits of his step brother for a few weeks so he didn’t say anything.

After they had finished dessert, they headed out to the car to drive Kurt back to Dalton. 

“Stay safe, kiddo,” Burt said and he pulled Kurt in for a hug. 

“I will,” Kurt replied, lingering in the hug a few seconds longer. “Don’t work too hard, okay? I promise I’ll be home whenever I can.” 

Burt smiled and nodded. “You just focus on your studying.”

“I will, Dad.”

Kurt waved his family off and headed back into the school to enjoy the rest of the evening organising his room and getting ready for classes the next day. Thankfully, the teachers let everyone settle in and didn’t start classes until after lunch on the first day back. It made it easier on everyone, especially new students who would be shown around by a prefect or a faculty member.

So far, Kurt hadn’t heard of any new seniors or any new teachers but he was sure he would before the end of the next day. Despite being an all boys school, gossip travelled fast at Dalton.

Kurt hung his clothes in his wardrobe, thankful for the ample space he had to use. The dorms were all quite large. They not only fit two single beds but two desks, two full wardrobes and had space left over. When Kurt first arrived at Dalton, he silently praised whoever designed the building to accommodate for boys who liked to spread out. Sure, they could have survived in a smaller space but the openness gave the rooms a much more welcoming feeling and gave a sense of privacy even when sharing.

Each dorm had a bathroom attached, and Kurt was glad he only ever had to share with Jeff. Boys could be so messy and no one liked to clean up after themselves but Kurt couldn’t stand a messy bathroom sink or shower. The school had cleaners come in every week to scrub the bathroom from top to bottom but the staff would do random spot checks every now and then and if the living area wasn’t up to standard, they got demerits. 

Dalton always seemed strict to everyone who first arrived but once you knew the rules and knew what to expect and avoid, life was pretty simple. 

There were six prefects to every year level and they were students who excelled in their school work and were looked to as mentors for their peers. Nick, Jeff and Kurt were three of the six prefects for the seniors but thankfully, most seniors didn’t need mentors, unless there was a new student, so they were mostly only called upon when it was something involving the whole school. 

“Hey, Kurt, stop alphabetising your music, and come play some pinball,” Jeff said, entering their room. “Trent has challenged Nick to a pinball duel or something and Nick looks like he’s out for blood. It’s going to be hilarious to watch.”

Kurt chuckled. “You sure know how to pick them, Jeff,” he teased affectionately and he slipped the last of his CDs into the small stand on his desk and followed Jeff from the room.

When they arrived in the senior games room, it did look like Nick was out for blood. Kurt could see the sheer look of concentration on his face as he repetitively tapped the buttons on the machine, trying to get the best score imaginable, from the looks of it.

The senior games room was the most sought after room for all students at Dalton. Younger students couldn’t wait to be seniors just so they could spend their free time in there and junior students worked exceptionally hard to be invited in to play. 

Each year level had their own games room but the senior one had not only the Wii, X-Box 360 and a PlayStation 3 (because apparently seniors actually had _time_ to relax) but they had an old school pinball machine brought in last year and every student had attempted to beat the current high score. Legend had it that their principal was the one who had set the high score but no one had proof. Until the score was beaten, no one was ever going to find out just who set the score.

“C’mon, Nick, you can do it!” a bunch of students watching Nick cheered.

“I think you’ve lost your boyfriend to the pinball machine,” Kurt said, sitting down on the couch next to Jeff. 

“Yeah, only for a little while,” Jeff replied, glancing over at Nick and the students that were surrounding him. “He’ll get his score soon enough and then Trent will try to beat it.”

Kurt smiled and shook his head and watched them from where he sat, taking in all of the cheers and encouraging words to Nick.

Jeff got up a few minutes later and passed Kurt a Singstar microphone. Kurt raised an eyebrow but stood anyway.

“You do know you’re going to lose, right?” Kurt said.

“Bring it, Hummel,” Jeff replied with a grin. “Heads or tails?”

Kurt watched as Jeff tossed a coin in the air. “Heads.”

Jeff smirked and caught the coin, covering it up with his hand before looking at it. “Heads it is,” he said. “Choose your poison.”

Kurt grinned and used the controller to select his song. He chose _Survivor_ by Destiny’s Child and set the level to hard. “Think you can handle it?” he asked as the song loaded up onto the TV screen.

“Of course,” Jeff said. “Just shut up and sing.”

Kurt playfully rolled his eyes at his friend and began to sing along to the lyrics on the screen. He sang out his part and then let Jeff do his to see who would get the better score. At the end of that song, Kurt had won but then it was Jeff’s turn to choose the song and of course, he went with Maroon 5’s _This Love_. 

Kurt twirled the microphone in his fingers while he waited for the song to load and he and Jeff battled it out. Jeff’s score was slightly higher than Kurt’s at the end of it but they both got ‘Singstars’ so they didn’t care. It was an easy song to sing but it was also Jeff’s favourite. He had the current high score for it and no one else could beat him.

The sound of explosive cheering interrupted Kurt and Jeff choosing their next song and suddenly a pair of arms shot up into the air. 

“Go Nick! Go Nick! Go Nick!” 

They both looked over to see Nick breaking out of the crowd, a massive smile on his face. “I did it, Jeff! I beat the high score!”

Jeff grinned and put his microphone down to hug his boyfriend. “You are epic,” he said.

“Yeah, he is!” Wheeler, a junior, said, slapping Nick on the shoulder.

“Congratulations, Nick,” Kurt said with a smile. 

“Hey, I wonder if you’ll find out if it was Principal Gibbons who actually set that high score or not?” Jeff asked. “I suggest you find out. Maybe you’ll get an awesome prize or something?”

Kurt chuckled at Jeff’s enthusiasm and rolled his eyes. 

“If it was Principal Gibbons, then he is a legend,” Nick said. “Except, I’m better because I beat him!”

Jeff wrapped his arms around Nick’s shoulders and started kissing him hotly. Kurt rolled his eyes affectionately and turned back to the television to choose another song for him and Jeff to sing. 

A few minutes later Jeff picked up his microphone again and they battled it out over their last song, their scores ending up so close that Jeff suggested they do two more songs to see who the winner would be.

By the time their fourth song was completed, almost the entire room of students had surrounded them, watching Kurt and Jeff singing for the game. Jeff, of course, added in his own dance moves and while that made loads of the students cheer, it didn’t earn him any extra points and Kurt ended up winning both songs, beating Jeff’s score by quite a lot.

“Sorry, Jeffster,” Kurt said with a smile. “Looks like I’m still the champion of Singstar.”

He threw Jeff a wink before setting the microphone on the table for someone else to have a turn.

Kurt made his way out of the games room and back up to the dorm rooms to finish unpacking and getting ready for bed. It was already getting quite late and he still had a lot to do before he would allow himself to crawl into bed and fall asleep. 

Almost two hours later, Kurt had finally finished organising everything and he sagged with relief. He picked up his pyjamas and his bath towel to have a shower before bed. He headed into his and Jeff’s shared bathroom and locked the door behind him, ready to enjoy a _long_ and hot shower.

Even while he showered, Kurt mentally checked off everything in his head. He wanted to be as organised as possible for his classes the next day and with a room mate like Jeff, he basically had to organise for two people. Not that he minded. He loved Jeff a lot, they were pretty much best friends, but sometimes the blonde could be a bit of a scatterbrain, despite how intelligent he actually was. 

Jeff was one of those people who retained large volumes of information after only hearing it once and Kurt was immensely jealous of that talent. It caused him to ace every single test put in front of him with hardly ever having to study. Kurt hoped that senior year would at least challenge Jeff a little. He liked to study with a small group of friends, not by himself. 

Once he had finished in the shower, Kurt stepped out and ran a cloth over the mirror to get rid of the steam and he set about to do his nightly moisturising routine.

He emerged from the bathroom a while later and was met with the sight of Jeff and Nick making out on Jeff’s bed. He ignored them, and the hand that was up Nick’s shirt, and put his belongings away. 

Kurt grabbed his novel and slipped into bed, trying to ignore the noises coming from the other side of the room. Soon, he became engrossed in his book and lost in the characters lives and troubles. It was only when Kurt heard Nick’s watch beep twice in succession that he realised it was midnight. He looked up over at his friends and rolled his eyes.

“Hey, you two,” he started. “Come up for air. It’s curfew.”

He got twin moans in response so he sighed and called out again. The pair reluctantly parted and Jeff threw Kurt a glare. “Spoilsport.”

“You’re a prefect, Jeffrey, you’re meant to be setting an example for the younger students,” Kurt admonished, trying not to smile as he teased his dorm mate.

Jeff stuck his finger up at Kurt and walked Nick to the entrance of the room, only to stop to kiss him for another five minutes. 

Kurt threw a pillow at them both. “That was fun,” he said with a grin. “Good night, Nicholas.”

“Night, Kurt,” Nick said, giving him a small wave. 

Kurt turned back to his book when he heard soft whispers followed by a few more kisses and the door finally closing shut. 

“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Kurt commented without looking up from his book. 

“When you get a boyfriend, dear Kurt, I am going to do the _exact_ same to you,” Jeff said, moving about the room to get ready for bed. 

“Sure, sure,” Kurt said, waving a hand at him. “High school boys are _so_ overrated,” he added. “Especially the boys _here_.”

“Hey, I resent that,” Jeff said.

“And I love you,” Kurt replied, giving Jeff a wink. “Hurry up; I want to go to sleep.”

“Yes, mom,” Jeff teased before quickly leaving for the bathroom.

Kurt shook his head and turned back to his book, eager to finish the chapter before Jeff got out of the bathroom and would inevitably turn out the light.

~*~

The next morning, Kurt awoke with a start before remembering that classes didn’t start until that afternoon. In the next moment, he remembered the Warbler meeting that was meant to take place at 10 am in the senior commons and he figured he had better get out of bed and have his coffee fix with breakfast before he could even think about facing a room full of hopeful Warbler wannabes.

Kurt looked over at Jeff who was sprawled out on his stomach, still fast asleep. He crossed the room and pulled the blankets back over Jeff’s body a bit better, lest they fall on the floor, leaving Kurt with a view of a completely naked Jeff.

Jeff sleeping naked was something that Kurt had found out the hard way. It was in the first month of Kurt’s transfer and he had had a particular violent nightmare. He had been having nightmares about his bully on and off since he arrived at Dalton and that particular night, Kurt was crying in his sleep when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He had sat bolt upright, trying to clear his head when he came face to face with a very, _very_ naked room mate.

Kurt had promptly forgot his nightmare as Jeff kept rubbing his shoulder, seemingly unaware of his own nakedness until Kurt found his voice again and asked Jeff to at least put some underwear on.

Jeff had sheepishly pulled on a pair of boxer shorts and sat back on the bed with Kurt. 

That night was when they became best friends.

Kurt poured his heart out to Jeff, telling him everything that had happened and that no one else at the school knew about. He knew of the gossip that was surrounding him – the new Dalton enigma – but he didn’t trust anyone, despite the no bullying policy that school had in place.

Jeff had held him in his arms and just listened to Kurt, let him talk it out. Kurt needed it more than he had ever even realised and after that night, the nightmares lessened and when he did have them, Jeff was there to hold him through it. 

There had been some awkward mornings where he had woken up with Jeff in his bed, or stranger, in Jeff’s own bed but Kurt didn’t question it. He knew Jeff didn’t have to worry about him or even care about him but he did and Kurt was grateful for it. 

Eventually, Kurt had grown close to Nick too. He and Jeff came as a package deal as Kurt had discovered extremely quickly when he had transferred. At first, they were reserved in their affections for each other in Kurt’s presence but after the first month, they were all back to normal. Kurt loved the two boys like they were his own brothers and they were the sweetest couple Kurt had ever come across, apart from his dad and Carole.

Nick was not only the smartest person Kurt had ever met (even smarter than Jeff) but he was also the biggest sweetheart as well. The first moment Kurt had seen Nick and Jeff together, he could see just how smitten Nick was. Everything he did was in fluid movement with everything Jeff did. He did things automatically, like pouring Jeff’s coffee first, halving his bagel and making sure that he had both strawberry jam and cream cheese on it before even giving it to Jeff. 

Not that Jeff didn’t do the same for Nick; they worked like a unit. The definition of ‘two halves of a whole’ had never seemed so fitting before in Kurt’s life. 

Kurt smiled as Jeff let out a sigh in his sleep and he slipped into the bathroom to get ready for the day. He went about his morning ritual with ease, each movement more like muscle memory than anything else. He dressed last, pulling on the school uniform he had worn so many times before. Once he was done, Kurt checked his reflection once more before leaving the bathroom. 

He re-entered the bedroom to see that Jeff had awoken and was rubbing his eyes. 

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Kurt said, glancing over at his friend. Jeff just grunted in response.

There was a knock on the door a few moments later and Kurt opened it to reveal Nick, holding a tray of four take away coffees and a paper bag. 

“I brought Starbucks,” Nick said upon entering the room.

“Nicky, I love you,” Jeff said, making grabby hand movements towards the coffees. 

Nick set the tray down on top of Jeff’s bedside drawers and Jeff immediately grabbed one, taking a long sip. Kurt snorted in amusement and made his bed so he could sit on it. 

“Here you go,” Nick said. “One grande non-fat mocha for you,” he handed Kurt the coffee, “and I have some savoury muffins in there too.”

Nick held out the paper bag and Kurt gratefully took it to pick out his muffin with a smile. Nick was _such_ a good friend. 

“There’s a bagel in here for you, Jeff,” Kurt said, picking up his coffee again.

Nick took the bag back and set it down next to the single remaining coffee in the cardboard tray and sat next to Jeff on the bed. 

Jeff was still drinking his first coffee and Kurt knew from experience that he wouldn’t function properly until he had finished the first one and had the second one in his hand. 

Nick was seriously the best boyfriend in the world, Kurt thought as he watched Nick hand Jeff the second coffee and take the first empty one away. 

“I feel human again now,” Jeff said, taking a smaller sip of his second coffee. 

“Good,” Nick said. “Because we have a Warbler meeting in forty-five minutes.”

Jeff groaned and flopped back onto the bed. “Nicky, I don’t wanna.”

“Tough, you’re on the council, you have to,” Kurt said with a smirk, breaking his muffin in half to eat it. 

Jeff groaned again and shuffled out of bed, still completely naked, and headed for the bathroom.

“One of these days, he’s going to do that and there’s going to be a teacher or someone in here,” Kurt started. “And I’m just going to sit here and laugh.”

Nick chuckled. “You are awful,” he said. 

Kurt just smiled innocently. “I have no idea what you mean, Nick.”

“Oh, I heard there are five new teachers this year,” Nick started. “Two in the science department, one in the English department, one in music and one in fencing.” 

“How accurate is your source?” Kurt asked, sipping his coffee again.

“Pretty accurate,” Nick replied. “Principal Gibbons told me this morning when he pulled me into his office to congratulate me for beating his high score.”

Kurt’s eyes widened. “So it _was_ him that set the pinball score?” he asked disbelievingly. 

Nick nodded, grinning widely. “Yep. Who would have thought old Gibbons would have it in him, hey?”

Kurt just shook his head, amazed. “Certainly not me.”

Kurt finished his coffee and muffin before Jeff exited from the bathroom, this time with a towel around his waist, thankfully, and they waited for him to dress before heading to their Warbler meeting. 

Both Nick and Jeff were on the council but the third spot went to another senior, Toby, because Kurt had turned down the position. He loved the Warblers but he felt that the position should go to someone who had been with them for longer than he had, so it went to Toby instead. 

The meeting was short, and they were out within the hour. Jeff still looked tired to Kurt but he had gained some of his usual perkiness by the time lunch rolled around. 

They parted ways after they had eaten, heading for their first class of the afternoon. Kurt’s AP Biology class passed quite quickly and he was at his locker getting his books for his AP English class that he shared with both Jeff and Nick before he knew it.

“Nicky says we have a new teacher for English,” Jeff said, slouching against the locker next to Kurt’s own. 

“Yeah, he mentioned this morning when you were showering,” Kurt replied, slipping his books into his bag. 

“Let’s hope he’s nicer than the Physics teacher I just had,” Nick said as he approached, slipping his hand into Jeff’s own. 

“Naw, did Nick actually _struggle_ with something?” Kurt teased.

“Of course not,” Nick replied with a grin. “The guy just hated that I corrected him in front of the entire class.”

Kurt laughed. “Oh, Nick, don’t ever change.”

Nick grinned and they all headed to the English room which was located on the third floor, in the back end of the wing. 

Kurt listened to Nick and Jeff chatter about their first lesson and Jeff moaned about how easy it all was. Kurt just rolled his eyes at his friends’ conversation. Only he could be best friends with the two smartest kids in school who would think their _hard_ course load was ‘easy’.

They entered the classroom and Kurt took a seat in the third row on the right hand side, while Nick and Jeff took the other two seats in the same row, Jeff in the middle. Kurt was glad for the smaller class sizes as it meant they were seated quite close to each other without practically sitting in each other’s laps like at Kurt’s old school. 

“Whoever he is, he’s late,” Nick commented, looking at his watch. 

“Five minutes and we ditch, right?” Jeff replied, a smile spreading across his face. 

Kurt shook his head and pulled his books out of his bag, figuring he could do a little bit of writing before their teacher got there. 

“It’s been five minutes, hasn’t it?” Trent said from in front of Jeff.

Just as Trent was about to stand, someone clearly fitting the description of a teacher walked into the class. Kurt caught a glimpse of the back of him, seeing the mass of black curls and taking in the light brown vest and the pale blue shirt. Kurt would have made a comment to Jeff but when their teacher turned around, he bit back the noise of appreciation his mind apparently wanted him to express.

The man was _gorgeous._


	2. Chapter 2

A frustrated sigh escaped Blaine Anderson’s lips as he tried for the fifth time to tie his tie correctly. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. 

It was the first official day of his job since leaving college. At just twenty three, Blaine was the youngest employee to have ever been hired by Dalton Academy and he knew that it wasn’t only for his exceptional test scores and his fantastic teaching skills. No, it was also because he had been a Dalton student himself and so had his father. And his grandfather and every single other male in the entire Anderson line had gone to Dalton since it opened.

Blaine had always felt a connection to the school. Whether it had been from listening to stories of Dalton from his father and older brother, Nate, growing up, or if it was from the pure experience Dalton had to offer, Blaine wasn’t sure. He had loved every moment of his time at the school, boarding and all and while some people would think that he was a fool to go back to teach there, Blaine knew differently.

Dalton had been his haven. After some personal issues in junior high, Dalton had been an exceptionally warm welcome for Blaine for the remainder of his schooling. Especially with their strict no bullying policy.

Blaine had managed to shine while at Dalton. After years of being suppressed by his peers for being _different_ , he was able to come out of his shell a bit and be who he was without the fear of being teased for it.

When Blaine was twelve, he first discovered that he liked boys more than girls. All of his friends were at the stage where they were noticing girls in their class, or the older sisters of their friends but Blaine never had. He noticed this one particular boy in his class who was a little shy, kept to himself but was more gifted in music than anyone else Blaine had ever met. 

His crush on Andrew had grown over the summer and during eighth grade, Blaine had somehow gained the courage to talk to him. He became Andrew’s friend very fast and even though he had a crush the size of the Atlantic on him, Blaine didn’t mind. Andrew was special and Blaine felt special around him.

They hung out after school and Andrew taught Blaine how to play the guitar. Andrew was some kind of musical prodigy; Blaine had realised as he not only played the piano but he played the violin and had taken up guitar when he was eleven. The more time Blaine spent with Andrew, the more he realised that this boy, this thirteen year old boy had changed his life so much in such a short amount of time. 

Andrew had confided in Blaine one day that he liked boys and Blaine’s heart had soared. Blaine told Andrew that he liked boys too and in the same breath, asked him to the Sadie Hawkins Dance that was on Friday. Andrew had shyly said yes and Blaine had walked around on cloud nine for the remainder of the week. He wasn’t sure if it was an ‘official’ date or anything but Blaine was excited either way.

The dance had been fun. He and Andrew had danced a little but had spent a lot of the night talking. Blaine loved talking to Andrew, he was so fascinating and had so many goals and dreams that Blaine found him inspirational.

The night, however, hadn’t ended exactly how Blaine had hoped it would. In his mind, he wanted to take Andrew’s hand in his and thank him for going with him and maybe have a small kiss. 

Of course, it didn’t end like that. Blaine and Andrew had both ended up in the hospital and after that night, Blaine never saw Andrew again. 

All Blaine knew from that night was that he had ended up with three broken ribs, a lot of internal and external bruising and a heart that had broken at the loss of his best friend. 

Blaine had spent a lot of time in hospital healing and even more at home. Once Andrew had been discharged from hospital, his family moved out of the state and Blaine wasn’t allowed to contact him again, which made him even more upset than he already was.

After extensive discussions and plans, Blaine’s father had sent him to Dalton for the rest of the school year, despite the fact he was still in the eighth grade. Blaine’s father had pulled a lot of strings to get him into Dalton because it was the safest place for Blaine to be after the dance incident and Blaine wasn’t going to complain. He kept quiet and kept to himself. He didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to himself – he just wanted to get through his time at Dalton in one piece.

The incident had impacted Blaine a lot more than he would have liked it to. He had nightmares almost every single night for the first six months after that night and even though Blaine’s parents had organised for him to see a therapist, the nightmares still came.

It wasn’t until almost a year after the accident that they began to ease up and that was because one particular student wouldn’t leave his side until Blaine agreed to be friends with him. Wesley Montgomery ended up being Blaine’s best friend throughout their entire time at Dalton. They had even gone to college together but both studied different things. Wes was studying to become a lawyer and Blaine found his passion in teaching.

When Wes first told Blaine that “I’m not leaving here until you agree to be my friend”, he had thought he was joking but Wes was far from it. 

They became fast friends and even though Blaine still kept him at arm’s length, Wes didn’t push. They were both invited to join the Warblers soon after that and Wes had encouraged Blaine to come out of his shell a little more. Blaine had been hesitant at first but after he auditioned for his first solo, he felt a lot better about himself and the world than he had thought possible.

Eventually, Blaine let Wes get closer and he confided in him what had happened. Blaine hadn’t expected Wes to hug him and tell him that he was ‘safe now’ but he had and Blaine had been so grateful for his friendship right then. 

The rest of Blaine’s schooling had gone better than he ever could have imagined. He led the Warblers to a National championship in his senior year, making it the first time they had ever won. It was like a dream come true and now he was going back to Dalton to teach, he wanted to input as much as possible to the Warblers, despite knowing it was entirely student run except when there were teachers chaperoning them to competitions or excursions. 

Blaine looked over at the clock on his bedside table and quickly tried to get his tie correctly done up once more. He finally succeeded and hurriedly pulled on his jacket before leaving his apartment. 

He was glad that he lived relatively close to the school so he wouldn’t be late for the start of year dinner for the staff. It was a way for them to all get to know each other a little before the school term started and Blaine was more than a little nervous. He had met most of the other teachers the week before the students arrived as they had a lot of meetings about the curriculum, clubs and events the school would hold throughout the year but Blaine had mostly been focused on his work rather than his colleagues. 

Blaine arrived at the school a short while later and slipped easily into the staff lounge. It was a large area, thankfully, but then again, most of the classrooms and other rooms in the school were large. 

Blaine wasn’t the last one to arrive if the size of the crowd was anything to go by, which he was immediately grateful for. He hated being late to anything and it was easy to get lost in the school, despite schooling here himself a few years ago.

“Blaine, right?” a petite blonde woman asked, stepping up to his left side.

“Yeah,” he replied with a nod, holding out his hand to shake the woman’s own. “And you are?” 

“Sally,” she replied. “I teach Home Economics.”

Blaine smiled. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Sally kept talking to Blaine while the rest of the staff members slowly arrived and soon the room was full with every single teacher at Dalton. Blaine knew from his own past that there were teachers who boarded at the school as well while others that had younger children would leave at the end of the day.

Blaine had chosen to live off campus for at least his entire first year so he could get his footing before being thrown back into living at a school. 

Soon, everyone was seated for dinner and Sally invited Blaine to join her so they could keep their conversation going. They chatted a lot about teaching and Sally’s experiences with the students in her class. Blaine figured it must be tough to be a thirty year old, quite attractive woman teaching at an all boys school but Sally said she commanded respect from her students. 

“Sure, there is the occasional one who tries to impress me so much that he almost burns down the entire kitchen but it’s kind of sweet,” Sally said with a wistful smile.

Blaine grinned. “I don’t know how you do it,” he said. “Having a classroom of more than twenty boys ogling you?”

Sally just shrugged in response. “I’m sure you’ll get plenty of boys ogling you too, Blaine.”

Blaine felt the tips of his ears go pink and he took a sip of water. “I… I mean, not that it wouldn’t be _flattering_ but isn’t it a little creepy?”

“Not really,” Sally replied. “Don’t you remember what it was like to be sixteen and infatuated?”

Blaine fell silent as he processed Sally’s statement. It was true, he had once had a fleeting crush on his music teacher when he was younger but he was always too shy to ever say anything. He mostly remembered striving harder to impress his teacher so that he would get praised and be showered with attention. Blaine figured if some of his students pushed themselves to work harder for _his_ attention, then he didn’t think it was that big of a deal.

“I guess we’ve all been there,” Blaine said eventually.

“That we have,” Sally replied, picking up her glass of wine to take a sip.

The rest of the dinner passed smoothly and once the plates were all cleared, Frank Gibbons, the principal, stood to address everyone and answer any last minute questions anyone might have.

He read off the list of students who were prefects and one of the new staff members asked why they were called ‘prefects’ and not just hall monitors. Blaine smiled as he listened to the answer of how the prefects were for more than just monitoring the hallways but they were more than a student representative council too. The prefects were there to not only aid the students but were responsible for organising everyone into an orderly fashion should an emergency occur. They were also called upon to help staff if they needed it and they mostly organised any school social event with a couple of select teachers to provide the students with ideas of what they could do for themes, or fundraising. Dalton had always believed in making their students as independent as possible, which is why clubs like the glee club were always student run.

Principal Gibbons answered a few more questions before letting them leave for the evening.

“See you tomorrow, Blaine,” Sally said as they stood. “Rest up; it’s going to be a long day.”

~*~

Despite the fact that he didn’t have to teach his first class until after lunch, Blaine was awake surprisingly early. He organised everything into his briefcase, notes, pens, and his books before snapping it shut.

Seeing that it was barely eight in the morning, Blaine figured he had plenty of time to get a coffee and some breakfast from Starbucks. He grabbed his keys and left his apartment, deciding to walk the short distance there.

As Blaine read the menu boards, he figured he may as well go with what he normally drank and try something new the next time. He was too nervous to enjoy a hazelnut latte and knew if he got one, he would regret it. 

Just as he was about to step forwards when ‘next’ was called, he almost bumped into a young man roughly the same height as him who was carrying a tray holding four take away coffees and a paper bag. 

“Sorry,” he said automatically.

“It’s okay, no harm, no foul,” the guy replied.

Blaine nodded and stepped to the side to let him passed. Blaine placed his order and once he had got it, he left feeling much lighter than he had when he walked in.

The first class Blaine had was freshman English and the assignment was pretty straight forward: write about your summer. The students had, of course, groaned, especially when Blaine said he wanted a one thousand word paper on his desk by Friday. He knew it was a tedious exercise but it also helped him determine just how many of his students were dedicated to writing and those that would need a little extra help.

Once the lesson was finished, the students got up and quickly left the room, leaving Blaine alone. He sat down at the desk and took a deep breath. The nerves that Blaine felt when the students had first walked into the class hadn’t left yet and he still had one more class to teach that afternoon. 

Shaking his head, Blaine stood and gathered his notes and belongings, putting them back into his briefcase before leaving the room for his senior AP English class. He passed students in the hallways that were all heading towards their next class and the second bell sounded, making Blaine officially late for his class.

He picked up his pace a little and finally made it to the third floor. He took a deep breath to calm himself again and entered the room just as one of the students was standing, probably to leave.

“You can sit back down,” he said coolly. 

The student gave him an annoyed look but Blaine tried to ignore that in favour of introducing himself to the class.

“My name is Blaine Anderson but you can call me Mr Anderson,” he started. 

“Like the Matrix?” a guy in the back row called out. “Mr Anderson.”

Blaine tried not to smile at the Smith impersonation because that wouldn’t command the authority he needed. “That’s your one and only shot at saying that, it gets old pretty quick.”

A couple of the students chuckled and Blaine’s attention fell on a student who was sitting in the third row, avidly writing something. He tried not to stare when the boy looked up, catching his gaze. 

Blaine swallowed thickly. “Right, well, now you all know who I am, we’re going to go around the room and you’re going to let me know who you all are.”

Blaine gazed back over at the student who was still writing and he mentally shook his head. “Let’s start with you,” he said, pointing to a student in the front row. “Name and an interesting fact about yourself.”

“Uh,” the boy said. “My name is Josh Collins and I’m obsessed with Star Trek.”

Blaine smiled and the next student took his turn. He kept his focus on each student as they spoke until his attention fell upon the boy who had captured his attention in the third row.

“My name is Kurt Hummel and I either want to work in fashion or be a playwright.”

“Such a cop out, Kurt,” the boy next to him said, earning a smile from the blue eyed teen. “I’m Jeff Galven and I want to be a spy when I’m all grown up.”

There were some snorts of laughter and Blaine couldn’t help but smile.

“Nick Ward and I am the current pinball champion of this school.”

The class erupted into cheers and Nick grinned widely.

“Alright, settle down,” Blaine said quickly, glad that the boys did so. 

The rest of the class introduced themselves and Blaine went about his lesson like he had planned. As he spoke, however, he couldn’t seem to stop looking over at the boy named Kurt. He knew it was silly but he was quite enamoured by him even though Kurt had only spoken the once.

Once the lesson had finished, the students filtered out one by one while Blaine turned to clear the whiteboard of the notes he had written up while they had been discussing things. He thought that the lesson had gone rather well and he started to feel less nervous.

“Mr Anderson?”

Blaine looked over his shoulder, startled to see Kurt standing before him, clutching the strap of his book bag.

“I’m Kurt,” he said.

“I know,” Blaine replied immediately.

Kurt smiled at him for a brief moment. “I just wanted to let you know that Nick, Jeff and I are all senior prefects and that if you needed a hand with anything, photocopying or… anything. Well, we’re all in the same class and one of us would be more than willing to help.”

Blaine swallowed thickly and nodded. “Thanks, Kurt,” he said, throat feeling a little dry. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Kurt smiled again. “I… You’re welcome,” he said but didn’t move. “Welcome to Dalton, Mr Anderson.”

Kurt turned on his heel and left, leaving Blaine standing alone in the classroom, gaze fixed on the spot where Kurt had just been.

~*~

“I’m telling you, Wes, it was nuts,” Blaine said, picking up the pan to drain the pasta. “I thought college boys were hot but some of these students? Wow. And I mean _wow_.”

“Blaine, that’s… _adorable_ that you think some of your students are attractive but don’t be silly,” Wes started, getting the ladle to scoop out the meatballs and sauce. “These are your _students_. Thinking about them like that is not only illegal but it’s also immoral.”

Blaine rolled his eyes at Wes. “It’s just a comment, Wes, it’s not like I’m going to go have rabid sex with all of my students. What do you think I am? A monster?”

Wes sighed. “Don’t turn this around on me, Blaine, you’re the one who brought it up.”

“I’m surrounded by an entire teen population of boys every single day, Wes,” Blaine pointed out. “I think I’m entitled to admit that some of them are… appealing. Or better – _would_ be appealing if they were older, and legal and I wasn’t their teacher.”

Blaine separated the spaghetti onto two plates and waited for Wes to take over with the sauce. “Besides, you can’t tell me that you haven’t thought a younger girl was hotter. I distinctly remember that freshman you tried to hook up with when we were seniors.”

“That was college, it was a little different,” Wes replied, setting the ladle back in the pan.

Blaine picked up the two plates and took them to the small dining table. “Fine, let’s talk about something else.”

“Wise choice,” Wes replied, bringing over their glasses of wine. “How is the _teaching_ side going?”

“Pretty good so far,” Blaine said, picking up his fork. “Everyone has been pretty welcoming and I’ve even made a new friend.”

“Good for you,” Wes replied with a smirk. 

“And she’s a woman too,” Blaine replied. “A very, very hot and very, very single home economics teacher.”

Wes paused with his fork half way to his mouth. “Do tell.”

Blaine smirked in response and launched into the story of how he met Sally Wilkins at the staff dinner at the start of the week. 

Blaine enjoyed catching up with Wes. It had been a few weeks since they had seen each other since Blaine had been preparing for his teaching position and Wes was doing a paid internship at a Columbus law firm. They usually tried to catch up at least twice a month, if not more. 

After dinner, Blaine and Wes took their wine glasses and the bottle to the living room to continue catching up and by the time the night was through, Blaine had promised to at least get Sally to give Wes a call to see if they would be compatible at all.

Later that night when Blaine climbed into bed with a book, he couldn’t help but think back to his and Wes’ earlier conversation.

He knew it was absolutely silly to even so much as _look_ at his students but he couldn’t help the fact that Kurt had caught his attention. He pushed the thought aside as soon as it had formed though. Blaine was professional. He was a teacher to these students and that is all he would be. Indulging it silly little fantasies could make him lose his job and end up in jail.

Sighing, Blaine set his book aside, not in the mood to read anymore and he shut off his bedside light. He shuffled under the blankets and willed sleep to come.


	3. Chapter 3

“You are going to rot your teeth, I hope you realise,” Kurt admonished, watching Jeff suck the lollipop into his mouth again.

“I have perfect teeth, Kurt,” Jeff said, flashing him a smile from around the piece of candy. “Besides, I can always get falsies.”

“You’re insufferable,” Kurt mumbled, nudging Jeff with his shoulder. “Have you finished the assignment from Mr Anderson?”

“Of course not,” Jeff replied with a snort. “Have you?”

“Of course I have,” Kurt said automatically. “Some of us actually _have_ to _work_ at our grades, Jeff.”

“Kurt, don’t be like that, you’re smart, you know you are,” Jeff said, wrapping his arm around Kurt’s shoulders and pulling him close. “You just need to relax a little.”

Kurt sighed. Perhaps Jeff was right, he thought. He could definitely use a nice relaxing cup of coffee. “Let’s take a break.”

Jeff grinned and stood. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Kurt smiled at his friend and held out his hand, letting Jeff help him up off the couch they had been sitting on. Sunday afternoons were always the worst for Kurt to try and study. He liked to keep a schedule of what assignments to complete before a specific time but since the course load was so heavy, it was a little difficult getting everything perfect. 

Kurt slipped his books back into his bag and slipped it over his shoulder, following Jeff from the senior commons out to the car park so Jeff could take them to get coffee. While he liked the coffee the school provided, nothing was nicer than _leaving_ to get coffee. Especially when Kurt couldn’t concentrate. 

They arrived at Starbucks a short while later and were sitting across from each other with coffees and a muffin each. 

“So, what are you struggling on?” Jeff asked as he broke apart his muffin to eat.

“Chem,” Kurt replied. “For some reason, it’s just harder this year.”

“Give me a look at your notes,” Jeff said. 

Kurt reached into his bag and pulled out his notes and a pen. Jeff took the pen and started making changes in random spots that Kurt couldn’t decipher until Jeff turned the page around and pushed it back in his direction.

Kurt’s gaze quickly roamed over the changes and he broke out into a grin. “How did you do that?”

Jeff shrugged. “It’s simple when you have the right formulas,” he replied.

“I love you,” Kurt said with a sigh. “I seriously love you.”

Jeff grinned. “Of course you do,” he teased. “But I’m happily taken.”

Kurt smiled back and slipped the notes back into his backpack. “Well, if you ever get bored of Nick, I’m just in the next bed over.”

Jeff laughed and they finished their coffees gossiping about the new students they had met so far and the Physics teacher that hated Nick. By the time they got back to the school, the only teacher they _hadn’t_ talked about was their AP English teacher, Mr Anderson. 

Kurt was quite thankful for it because he was sure he would blush more than was considered normal. Since the first second Kurt had seen their teacher, he had developed an instant crush. 

It was a scary and stupid thing, he knew, but he couldn’t help it. Mr Anderson was… _amazing_. He spoke so perfectly and he was so intelligent, things that Kurt didn’t even know attracted him to someone. Mr Anderson seemed to meet every single one of Kurt’s ideals for a boyfriend, despite the fact that he was much, much older.

He had yet to find out _exactly_ how much older he was but it had to be at least five years, Kurt thought. 

He wasn’t sure what it was that attracted him to Mr Anderson but he was positively gorgeous and Kurt loved seeing him smile. He felt all warm and fuzzy inside when Mr Anderson smiled and he knew that if he told Jeff how he felt, he would never live it down, so he was more than thankful that he hadn’t been brought up in conversation yet.

Kurt did look forward to every single English lesson though, even though it was at the end of every day, it was exciting to finish school day off happy like he had been.

To anyone on the outside, it would just look like Kurt was being an attentive student, eager to please and eager to get a good grade but Kurt knew different. While those points were true, he mostly wanted to see Mr Anderson smile again because that felt better than getting one hundred straight A’s. 

Kurt didn’t see a problem in having a crush on his teacher, he knew he wasn’t the only one that it had ever happened to before and he knew that he wouldn’t be the last one either. There was just something about Mr Anderson that made Kurt want to work harder to please him. 

Kurt needed another reason to talk to Mr Anderson though. He had already read the assigned book and had completed all of his assignments on the night they were given and he wondered if Mr Anderson would let him do some extra credit work. Not that he needed it but it was always nice to boost his grade a little more. 

If Nick or Jeff even noticed his efforts, they didn’t comment on it. As the month went on, Kurt found himself looking for excuses to stay behind after class and talk to Mr Anderson. The first few times, Kurt let his nerves get the better of him and he just lingered for a few moments to stare at his teacher’s back before quickly leaving the room. 

On Thursday, six weeks into the school term, Kurt took a deep breath and purposefully stayed behind. 

“Mr Anderson?” 

“Kurt?” Mr Anderson asked. “Is there something wrong?”

“Uh, no,” Kurt replied, his heart beating a little faster in his chest. “I was just wondering if I could talk to you about the assignment you set at the start of the week.”

“Of course,” Mr Anderson said with a smile. “What would you like to know?”

“Oh, I’ve done the assignment already,” Kurt replied, cheeks heating up. “I just wanted to talk to you about the book. In general.”

Kurt licked his lips, gaze settling on Mr Anderson’s face, and he couldn’t help but think about just how handsome he really was.

“You’ve done the assignment, that’s great,” Mr Anderson said. “Well, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.”

“Why _The Great Gatsby_?” Kurt started. “I thought that was a junior book, not a senior one?”

Mr Anderson smiled briefly. “That’s true,” he nodded. “A lot of schools usually do it in their junior year but I thought there were some themes in the book that we could discuss as a more mature audience. It’s nice getting an older perspective on things because most sixteen and seventeen year old boys only have one thing on their mind during their junior year and it isn’t homework.”

Kurt laughed, nodding in understanding. “So, we’re not just reading the book to see just how much Nick is in love with Gatsby, even though it’s never really stated?”

Kurt knew it was a bold move, saying what he had said to Mr Anderson but his mouth had run away with him. 

Mr Anderson pushed his thin glasses up his nose a little more. “Well, there is that,” he started, a small smile playing on his lips. “But no, that isn’t the main reason.”

“I didn’t think it was,” Kurt replied. “Mr Anderson?”

“Yes, Kurt?”

“I…” Kurt swallowed. “I thought, maybe, since I’ve done the assignment already that you could give me something for extra credit?”

Mr Anderson frowned for a moment. “Kurt, from what I’ve heard in the teacher’s lounge, you don’t need it… But who am I to turn a student down who’s willing to do more work?”

Kurt grinned broadly. He knew his cheeks were probably flushed from all of the attention but he didn’t care. “It’s for purely selfish reasons.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Kurt nodded. “I, uh, I want to be a writer. When I leave school. Either a playwright or a journalist in a fashion magazine… It’s been a passion of mine since I knew what men’s fashion was.”

“I bet you hate the uniforms then,” Mr Anderson replied with a smile.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Kurt agreed. 

Mr Anderson explained what Kurt could do for extra credit and Kurt thanked him. He gave Mr Anderson a smile and left the room, feeling more than a little flushed. 

Kurt barely made it to their Warbler rehearsal that afternoon and he slipped into the practice room, mind still stuck on the conversation with his English teacher. 

Jeff shot him a concerned look but Kurt just pulled his sheet music out of his bag so they could start rehearsing. 

“Spill it,” Jeff said once they were alone in their room.

“Spill what?” Kurt asked.

“That look, you’re hiding something,” Jeff said, picking up some of his text books to move them aside so he could sit on his desk.

“I’m not hiding anything,” Kurt replied, flushing a little.

Jeff smirked. “Sure you’re not,” he teased.

“I…” Kurt shook his head. “I just wanted to see if I could do some extra credit work for English. That’s all I’m hiding, I promise.”

Jeff looked dubious but shrugged. “Nick and I are going horse riding this weekend, want to come?”

Kurt shook his head. “I can’t,” he started. “I have some things to do here before I go home for the weekend.”

“Okay,” Jeff said. “Tell either of us if you change your mind.”

“Will do,” Kurt replied, pulling out his notes and switching on his laptop to get started on his homework for the evening.

Jeff took the hint and left Kurt alone, and Kurt started on the extra credit assignment Mr Anderson gave him.

~*~

The next day after class, Kurt stayed behind again, telling Jeff and Nick that he would meet them in the senior commons a little later. He swallowed thickly and slung his bag over his shoulder, heading to the front of the classroom where Mr Anderson was cleaning off the whiteboard.

“Mr Anderson?” 

Mr Anderson turned around, giving Kurt a smile. “Kurt. What can I do for you?”

“I, uh, I have that extra credit assignment for you,” he said and he pulled the assignment out of his bag and handed it over.

“Already?” Mr Anderson asked as he took the papers. 

“Yeah,” Kurt replied with a nod. “I… I had a bit of spare time last night and I was bored, so I got it done. What do you think?”

Mr Anderson leaned against his desk and started to read Kurt’s paper. 

Kurt watched him carefully, taking in the expressions on his face as he read. He tried not to let his gaze stray too high to Mr Anderson’s hair, lest he lose control of himself and run his hands through the gorgeous, messy curls. 

Mr Anderson was by far the sexiest teacher Dalton had ever had and Kurt would know – he had been through old yearbooks to compare. 

“This is brilliant,” Mr Anderson said after a few moments. 

Kurt beamed. “Really?” 

“Yeah. I mean, _yeah_ ,” Mr Anderson nodded, smiling. “You have a real knack for writing, Kurt.”

“What can I say? I was inspired.” It was almost borderline flirting but Kurt didn’t care. 

“I can see why you’re one of the favoured students around here,” Mr Anderson said. “If you put even half of the effort into your other classes like I’ve seen here, then it’s no wonder all of your teachers love you.”

Kurt flushed at the praise. “I… Thank you.”

“I’d like your opinion on something, if you wouldn’t mind?” Mr Anderson asked.

“Me? Sure,” Kurt replied with a nod. 

Mr Anderson fussed around in his briefcase for a moment before producing a book. “There’s some poetry in here that I really think you’ll like. I know we’re not due to cover poetry until after the winter holidays but I think that you’ll like this.”

Kurt took the book and smoothed a hand over the cover. “Thank you,” he said. “I’ll read this tonight and give it back to you tomorrow.”

“Monday will do fine, Kurt,” Mr Anderson said. “Do you have a favourite poet?”

Kurt nodded and launched into a tale of his favourite authors and poets and how he had begun to love literature at a young age. 

“My mother used to read to me from when I was in her womb,” Kurt said. “She was a writer too. I guess it makes me feel connected to her still, if that makes sense?”

“It makes perfect sense,” Mr Anderson said. 

Kurt smiled softly. “I have some of her stuff still. She was in the middle of writing a series of children’s books when she died. I think that I’d like to complete them one day.”

“I think that would be very lovely. An excellent tribute to your mom, too,” Mr Anderson replied. “I’d love to read them, if you wanted me to?”

“I’d like that,” Kurt nodded, feeling his heart swell in his chest a little. 

Mr Anderson smiled at Kurt and they kept talking about books they had read, things they had loved over the years and the differences in prose when writing. Kurt slowly forgot about everything else, time, that they were in Mr Anderson’s classroom and that Mr Anderson was actually his teacher as they talked. The world seemed to have melted away for him as he listened to Mr Anderson’s passion filled voice.

“Oh, crap, look at the time,” Mr Anderson said, looking at his pocket watch. “It’s almost six. I’ve kept you way too long.”

“It’s okay,” Kurt said. “I don’t mind.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have kept you through dinner, Kurt,” Mr Anderson said.

Kurt shrugged. “It’s Friday, I’ll pick something up later with Jeff and Nick, probably.”

Mr Anderson smiled and stood, slipping his papers back into his briefcase. “If you get bored over the weekend, be sure to read that book I gave you.”

“I will,” Kurt replied. “Oh, Mr Anderson?”

“Yes?”

“What would you say is your ultimate favourite book?”

“Apart from the Harry Potter series?” Mr Anderson said with a grin. “Call me strange but I love _Little Women_.”

Kurt grinned. “Strange,” he teased lightly. “I’ll see you Monday.”

“Good night, Kurt.”

“Good night, Mr Anderson.”

The back of Mr Anderson’s hand brushed Kurt’s as they left the classroom and Kurt bit his lip, sighing softly before heading to his dorm room.

Nick and Jeff were there when Kurt got back and he was met with twin looks of worry. 

“Where were you?” Jeff asked, concern clear in his voice.

“Sorry,” Kurt apologised. “I was talking with Mr Anderson.”

“This whole time?”

Kurt nodded. “Yeah, we were talking.”

Nick grinned. “Kurt… Do you have a crush on our English teacher?”

“What? No!” Kurt exclaimed quickly. “I… no…”

Jeff chuckled. “You do, you totally do!”

Kurt flushed heavily. “You guys suck.”

“That we do,” Jeff replied with a wink. 

Kurt crinkled his nose. “I _know_ ,” he said. “I’ve walked _in_ on it. I don’t need a reminder.”

Both Nick and Jeff just laughed.

“Come on, let’s go get Chinese for dinner, I’m starving,” Jeff said, standing. 

“Chinese sounds good,” Kurt agreed, picking up his wallet so they could leave and get dinner.

A short while later, the three friends were sitting in a booth at a Chinese restaurant they all liked. Jeff and Nick picked out the pieces the other liked and shared them, making Kurt smile at the action.

“What?” Jeff asked, his mouth full of pork dumplings.

“Nothing,” Kurt replied with a smile. “You two are just… adorable.”

Nick smiled and shook his head, eating his noodles still. “What makes you say that?”

Kurt shrugged. “Just the way you both act around each other. It’s nice… I look forward to having that one day with someone.”

“You will soon, Kurt,” Nick said. “Your Mr Right is probably right around the corner.”

Kurt gave them a small smile and turned back to his dinner. 

“What’s all this about anyway?” Jeff asked, picking up his drink. “You know we were just teasing you about liking Mr Anderson, right?”

“I know,” Kurt said with a nod. “It’s just… how desperate am I if I can only find my teachers attractive?”

“Kurt,” both Jeff and Nick started at the same time.

“Don’t say that,” Jeff said. “Mr Anderson is very attractive and you’re very particular about who you date.”

“Jeff’s right,” Nick said with a nod. “I remember that one time Tim, from your AP Chem class, asked if you wanted to go out and you didn’t have the heart to tell him you weren’t interested so you went on that date and it was _awful_.”

Kurt crinkled his nose at the memory. “Fine, I’m picky,” he said. “Still, it’d be nice to have what you two have.”

Nick smiled and reached across, taking Kurt’s hand in his own. “Kurt…”

“You’ll never have this because Nicky and I are two in a bazillion,” Jeff teased. “I came out of my _mom_ asking where Nick was. True story, ask her yourself.”

Kurt snorted with laughter, shaking his head. “You certainly are… _special_ Jeff.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Jeff replied with a wink. “C’mon, hurry up and finish, I want ice cream for dessert.”

Kurt smiled at his best friends and thought if he ended up with someone who loved him _half_ as much as Nick and Jeff loved each other, then he would be alright.

~*~

“Are you sure you don’t want to come horse riding with us?” Jeff asked as he sat down next to Kurt on his bed. “I’m sure that Nicky will let you ride Taffy too. She’s the horse I learnt to ride on.”

“I’m sure,” Kurt replied as he laced his boots up. “I’m just getting some books from the bookstore and then I’m going home. I miss my dad.”

“Alright,” Jeff said, patting his shoulder. 

“Ready?” Nick asked as he came into the room. 

“I’m all yours,” Jeff nodded, standing.

“Weren’t you always?” Nick replied.

“Touché,” Jeff said with a grin and a kiss to Nick’s lips.

“Have fun today,” Kurt said with a fond smile. 

“We will,” Jeff said. “Priscilla and I are going to have loads of fun while Nick is stuck with his demon horse.”

“Rocket is _not_ a demon horse, he’s a _stallion_ ,” Nick said. “You’re just scared of him.”

“Kurt, this creature is _massive_ ,” Jeff insisted, looking at Kurt with wide, animated eyes. “He tried to eat me when I first saw him. He was giving me the evil eye and he _knew_ that I wanted into Nick’s pants.”

“Jeff, you met him when we were eleven,” Nick said. “ _Oh_.”

Jeff grinned widely. “C’mon, stud, let’s go.”

“Oh, ew, don’t call me ‘stud’ when I’m about to go riding on my stallion and you’re going to be on my mare.”

Kurt shook with silent laughter. “Go, just go,” he said, waving them off. 

Nick and Jeff left the room bickering like the old married couple they were and Kurt picked up the keys to his car and his overnight bag. He made his way to the school parking lot and climbed into his Navigator to drive to Columbus so he could visit the best bookstore he had ever been in. He found it last year when he Google searched good bookstores in Columbus and he came across one called “Village Book Shop” which was located in an old church. He had been dubious at first but after visiting and seeing the amount of books there had been lining the walls, he fell in love. 

A short while later, Kurt parked his car and picked up his book bag, heading into store. He smiled at Kelly, the cashier, and made his way through to the poetry section. He browsed the books lining the shelves, searching for a copy of the book Mr Anderson had loaned him the night before. 

He had read through almost the entire thing in one sitting and found that he didn’t really want to give it back to his teacher. He settled on buying his own copy because he didn’t want Mr Anderson to think that he was a thief. 

Kurt located the book on one of the top shelves and slid the small steps over to reach up and get it. 

“Kurt?”

Kurt looked around, the book slipping from his fingers and it landed on the floor with a thud. “Shoot,” he said automatically. 

He quickly stepped down off the steps and registered that it was Mr Anderson who had startled him. Kurt’s cheeks flushed and he straightened himself. 

“Hi,” Kurt greeted a little breathily and he mentally kicked himself for sounding like a teenage girl with a crush.

“Hi, Kurt,” Mr Anderson said. “Getting a copy for yourself?” he asked and he handed Kurt the book back.

Kurt nodded. “I had to,” he started. “I read most of your copy last night and it’s _amazing_. You didn’t tell me you were in there though.”

Mr Anderson smiled. “That would have ruined the surprise.”

“You’re a great writer,” Kurt said quickly, inwardly cringing as soon as he had said it.

“Thank you,” Mr Anderson replied, adjusting his glasses on his face. “I wrote most of those in college for an assignment. My professor submitted them for me to one of her friends doing a book and… well, you have the hard copy in your hands.”

“Have you written anything else?” Kurt asked, immediately curious. He would love to read anything else Mr Anderson had written, especially if it was as good as his poetry. 

“I have,” Mr Anderson nodded. “Mostly a few short stories for college assignments but I’m trying to work on something a bit bigger. Teaching class all day long has kind of put a halt to that at the moment though.”

“I’d love to read whatever you have,” Kurt said, automatically following Mr Anderson off the second floor of the shop and down the staircase. 

“Maybe soon,” Mr Anderson said. “I think you should focus on your school work first.”

Kurt flushed a little. “I’ve actually completed my homework already.”

“Really?” Mr Anderson asked, both eyebrows raised. 

Kurt nodded. “It’s the only way I can go home every weekend. As the semester goes on, I’ll probably get a little more work but I try to get it out of the way as soon as possible. It leaves me more time for other stuff.”

“Sounds like you’re a very organised guy,” Mr Anderson said.

“I’d like to think so,” Kurt replied. “It helps – being organised, I mean. This way I get best of both worlds. I get the safety of Dalton and I get to go home to my dad and step-family on weekends.”

Kurt barely realised that they had reached the checkout and he handed the book to Kelly, the sales assistant, along with the money to pay for it. He flashed her a smile and followed Mr Anderson from the store.

Kurt and Mr Anderson kept talking as they walked down the street and they eventually stopped in front of a little café. Before Kurt registered what was going on, they had entered and were standing at the counter. Mr Anderson was ordering himself a coffee and turned to Kurt.

“Oh,” Kurt said, blinking. “Um. I’ll just grab a grande non-fat mocha, thank you.”

“Order something to eat,” Mr Anderson said. “You’ll need something before you travel for almost two hours and besides, I owe you for making you miss dinner last night.”

Kurt flushed. “It’s fine,” he said. 

“Kurt, please,” Mr Anderson said.

Kurt flushed even more and ordered a sandwich, feeling awkward when Mr Anderson paid. He wasn’t used to this kind of attention and he wasn’t particularly sure what exactly _this_ kind of attention meant. 

As Mr Anderson led them to a table towards the back of the store, Kurt couldn’t help but notice his feelings grew that much deeper.


	4. Chapter 4

Blaine was hypnotised. That was the only explanation for why he was staring at Kurt like he was… the greatest thing he had ever laid his eyes on.

He knew it was beyond wildly inappropriate for them to be having lunch together (well, _brunch_ because it was only 10.30 in the morning) but he couldn’t help himself. When he had seen Kurt in _Village Book Shop_ he couldn’t stop himself from saying hello. 

He had meant to it to be innocent enough – just say hi and then leave but when Kurt had the book – _his_ book – in hand, Blaine lost any sense of morality that he had making him keep his thoughts professional. It was highly stupid and not to mention risky of him to be out with Kurt like this. Sure, it was innocent enough to anyone watching but Blaine knew his feelings for Kurt were anything but. 

Blaine was ashamed of himself for letting his feelings get the better of him. Kurt was his _student_ , which automatically made him off limits, despite the fact that he was eighteen. 

He just couldn’t do it, though. Kurt was there, sitting in front of him, speaking animatedly about his poetry. _His_ poetry. Kurt loved _his_ work. The thought made him feel like a giddy teenager who had just received an A plus on his school work. 

Kurt amazed Blaine. He spoke so passionately about the things he liked and apparently that included wanting to read anything else Blaine had written. Blaine had a hard time saying no to Kurt back in the bookstore and he knew he wouldn’t be able to resist any longer if Kurt kept asking.

He probably wasn’t even _aware_ of the affect he had on Blaine. How he made Blaine’s heart race a little bit every time he smiled at him – which was surprisingly often. 

Blaine picked up his sandwich, willing the inappropriate thoughts out of his head. He focused on what Kurt was saying instead like the teacher he was supposed to be. 

Blaine watched Kurt eat his sandwich and engaged in the conversation as often as he could. He stopped and stared when he noticed that Kurt had a bit of mayonnaise in the corner of his mouth. Kurt didn’t realise and Blaine couldn’t stop staring. He set his sandwich down and picked up his napkin.

“You have, uh…” Blaine trailed off, lifting the napkin to wipe gently at the corner of Kurt’s mouth.

The room seemed to still completely and Blaine pulled back his hand quickly. He flushed and opened his mouth a few times to talk but no sound came out.

“I’m sorry,” he said eventually. “That was inappropriate.”

“It’s okay,” Kurt whispered. “I…”

“I think we had better leave now, Kurt.”

“Mister Anderson, it’s fine,” Kurt protested.

“I’ll see you in class on Monday, Kurt,” Blaine said, standing and he left the café as fast as he possibly could.

~*~

Blaine spent the better part of his weekend mentally reprimanding himself over behaving inappropriately with Kurt. What he felt for Kurt could not be acted upon, no matter how much Blaine liked him. At least not until he graduated. Which, Blaine’s mind supplied, was only until June next year.

Blaine busied himself making papers and grading the tests he had given out to his other classes and he purposefully stayed away from the pile of papers from his senior AP English class. Looking at it was just asking for trouble.

Eventually, Blaine had to look at the pile as he had to grade the papers his students had given him – including Kurt’s extra credit work. 

He quickly located Kurt’s papers and put them to the bottom of the pile.

“Out of sight, out of mind,” he muttered to himself as he poured himself a glass of red wine. 

Blaine sat down on his couch and pulled Kurt’s paper out from the bottom of the pile, unable to resist seeing Kurt’s excellent prose one more time. He picked up his red pen, ready to mark any mistakes or errors but he couldn’t find any. He set the red pen aside and smiled at Kurt’s recognisable passion and the subtle quips here and there. He sipped his glass of wine and turned the page, completely entranced by Kurt’s words. 

He was ridiculous. Behaving like he was with his crush on Kurt. It was completely unprofessional and Blaine could lose his first job teaching if it got out to anyone at all. He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. He just had to distance himself from Kurt, that was all.

It proved to be a little bit more difficult than Blaine would have liked as Monday afternoon, Kurt stayed behind after class again.

“Umm,” Kurt started. “Here’s your book, Mr Anderson.”

“Thank you,” Blaine replied, trying to avoid Kurt’s gaze.

“Mr Anderson?” 

Blaine looked up. “Yes, Kurt?”

“Thank you for lending your book to me,” Kurt said. “It was fantastic.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Mr Anderson?”

Blaine looked over at Kurt again, hand stilling on the whiteboard where he was erasing the notes he had written on there.

“I just wanted you to know I didn’t take anything that happened on Saturday wrongly,” Kurt continued. “I mean, it’s better that you did that or I probably would have drove home with mayonnaise on my face and that’s just embarrassing.”

Blaine smiled, unable to help himself. “That would have been embarrassing.”

Kurt gave him a small smile in return. “So, you really did me a favour.”

Blaine turned back to the whiteboard, erasing the last of the notes. “I have your papers, if you would like them back?”

“Oh, I’d love that,” Kurt said. 

Blaine pulled the papers out of his desk drawer and passed them to Kurt. “You know, I think you could do a lot more with your talent than just writing plays or fashion articles. You should try writing some short stories.”

“Can I do it for extra credit?” Kurt asked immediately.

Blaine nodded. “Sure,” he replied. “If you write me a… twenty-five hundred word maximum short story based on any topic you like, it can be counted for extra credit.”

“Any topic?” Kurt asked.

Blaine nodded, leaning against his desk. “Any topic, as long as it is appropriate to be read by me. A guy in my writing class first year of college basically wrote pornography and the professor wasn’t happy at all.”

Kurt crinkled his nose. “I think I’ll stay away from anything… _risqué_.”

“Good to know,” Blaine replied. 

“I’d better go,” Kurt said. “I don’t want to miss Warbler practice. Good night, Mr Anderson.”

“Good night, Kurt.”

Blaine stared at the door for a good five minutes after Kurt left before he caught himself and shook his head. He closed his briefcase over and headed for the exit of the classroom. 

He nodded and smiled and a few different students as he walked down the hall stairs to the first floor. Just as he was about to leave, a familiar female voice called out to him and he stopped. 

“Sally, hi,” he said.

Sally smiled and fell into step with him. “So, your friend Wes is nice,” she started. “He took me out to this really nice restaurant on Saturday.”

“Oh, really?” Blaine asked with a grin. “And how did it go?”

“It was _amazing_ ,” Sally replied. “We wined and dined me and then we made out for three hours. I felt like a teenager again.”

Blaine chuckled. “I’ve heard a few girls say Wes makes them feel like that.”

“He’s so dreamy, Blaine,” Sally said. 

“I’m glad things worked out well.”

They spoke a little more about Sally’s date with Wes and they reached the teacher’s lounge a few minutes later. Sally pottered around while Blaine kept talking with her and they left the school grounds shortly after.

“What about you?” Sally asked. “Anyone you’re romantically interested in?”

Blaine’s mind automatically went to Kurt and he flushed a little. “No, there’s no one.”

“I know that look,” Sally said with a smirk. “That’s the ‘I am totally crushing on someone’ look.”

Blaine shook his head. “It isn’t, trust me.”

“C’mon, who is she?” Sally asked with a grin as they reached the car park. 

“Definitely not a she,” Blaine replied before he could stop himself.

“So? Who is _he_ then?” 

“It’s no one,” Blaine said. “I don’t know him and he’s not from around here. It was just a fleeting look in a coffee house, nothing more.”

Sally assured him that it probably wasn’t but Blaine couldn’t think about it. _Wouldn’t_ think about it. He had pushed things too far already and he wasn’t even certain how or why he had pushed them in the first place.

Kurt was innocent. He had done nothing to provoke Blaine’s perverse interest in him and absolutely nothing could ever come of it. It was a stupid crush and Blaine would get over it. Just like he had got over every other crush he had had that hadn’t been reciprocated.

“Come over for dinner,” Sally said. “I think you need a night off. You look stressed.”

Blaine blinked and looked up at her. “I… uh…”

“Blaine, I’m the Home Ec teacher; I am a fantastic cook,” Sally reminded him. 

“Sure, why not.”

Sally grinned and gave him her address and two hours later, Blaine arrived at her apartment. He was greeted with the smells of cooking food and his mouth started to water at the aroma. 

“I’m cooking risotto, I hope you don’t mind?” 

“Risotto is perfect,” Blaine replied.

Sally poured him a glass of red wine while their meal finished cooking and they sat on her couch, sharing work stories. Sally told him about some of the more fascinating things that had happened during her classes and Blaine listened with rapt attention. He had always admired someone who could cook well and to be able to teach cooking to not only a bunch of boys but teenage boys was a feat, he thought.

They chatted over dinner and Blaine relaxed more than he had since starting at Dalton. While he loved teaching there, it was completely different to being a student. As a student, he had had his homework but as a teacher, he not only had to plan lessons for each class he had but he had to assign papers for his students to write and he had to prepare tests and then he had to mark them all as well.

He had no idea what he was going to do come finals time. He felt like he was barely keeping his head above water as it was. 

He told Sally his fears and she just smiled.

“It sounds scary, I know,” she started. “But honestly, after you’ve done it once, you won’t even _remember_ why you thought it was so hard.”

Blaine sipped at his wine, still unconvinced. “My senior AP English class is my best class,” he said. “So preparing those finals will be more than easy. I’m much more worried about my freshmen or my juniors. The freshmen are still in awe over everything and some of them are in a daze even in the lessons but then on the other end of the scale, my juniors are freaking out over their workloads and I feel like I should be cutting them some slack.”

Sally shook her head. “Don’t,” she said. “They need to learn how to deal with the pressure. High school is a piece of cake compared to college – then there’s the ‘real world’ after that.”

Blaine sighed. “I know, I know,” he said. “I just feel bad.”

“I know you do,” Sally said sympathetically. “Believe me, I went through this when I started three years ago but if you cut them some slack, then you’ll forever be known as the ‘easy’ class and students will want to be in your class just so they can slack off. 

“I know Dalton is a very prestigious school but we’re meant to deliver a certain level of education to these students. That’s why they’re there. That’s why their parents pay the big money – so they can get the best possible education they can.”

“So that’s why my parents sent me there,” Blaine teased with a smile. “I promise I won’t give any of them any reason to think my class is the ‘easy’ class.”

“Good,” Sally said and she refilled their glasses with more wine. “Now, onto the juicy stuff. Past lovers – go.”

Blaine flushed. “I… I haven’t really had any,” he admitted. “There was this guy in college but it didn’t last long.”

Sally raised her eyebrow. “Blaine Anderson, are you telling me you’ve never…”

“No!” Blaine blurted out. “I… We… Yeah, we had sex but he pretty much broke up with me afterwards.”

“Oh, Blaine,” Sally said. “I’m sorry.”

Blaine shrugged. “That’s what I get for dating a college guy.”

“Want to tell me about it so I can justly hate him for you?” Sally offered with a smile.

Blaine smiled at the sincerity on Sally’s face and proceeded to tell her about Michael, his college boyfriend. 

Michael had been in been in Blaine’s sophomore creative writing class and the first time he had ever spoken to Michael, they had been paired together to write a short story based on a past experience of theirs. Once Michael had started talking about himself, he realised they could use their mutual experiences of coming out to their friends and family. Blaine’s past had been a little more difficult than Michael’s had but they had worked well together and ended up getting an A on their assignment.

Michael had asked Blaine out after that and Blaine had readily agreed. He had shied away from any remote romantic interest anyone might have had for him during high school, not trusting the fact that he was in an all-boys boarding school. Michael had been different. He had sandy blonde hair and a killer smile.

They had dated for a short while before Michael had initiated sexual contact for the first time. Blaine had been scared out of his wits and held Michael off until he could do some research about what to expect.

It had taken another couple of weeks but Blaine gave his virginity to Michael only for him to break up with him three days later saying that they just weren’t compatible. 

Blaine had been devastated. Michael had dropped out of the class and Blaine had spent the remainder of his college years completely single and completely celibate, too afraid to get close to anyone. 

“Blaine,” Sally said softly once he had finished his tale. “You can’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”

“Did you just quote _A Cinderella Story_ at me?” Blaine asked.

“I don’t know whether to be impressed that you got that quote or scared,” Sally said with a snort of laughter. “Despite the Hilary Duff moment, the quote remains true. You need to get back out there! There are plenty of young gay guys and you’re not exactly hard on the eyes.”

“This is Ohio, Sally,” Blaine pointed out. “While times have changed a little, there are still _plenty_ of people who make comments and turn their noses up at gay couples. While Dalton was always a safe place for me, the rest of Ohio isn’t as understanding.”

“One day, you’ll find someone,” Sally said and she rested her hand on his forearm. “Hopefully soon. And hopefully even sooner, people around here will open their freaking eyes and stop being so judgemental.”

Blaine smiled softly. “I’d like to think it could happen.”

“It will,” Sally said decisively. “And, when you get married to Mr Right, I want to be your maid of honour.”

~*~

Blaine exited his small office off his third floor English classroom rather late one Wednesday evening. He had had a particularly gruelling day of tests he had given out to three of his classes. The gruelling part wasn’t giving out the tests; it was the marking that was involved. He had worked closely with a couple of his students in his freshman class, helping as much as he could during lesson time so they could breeze through the tests whenever he gave them.

One particular student had been struggling with the work since the start of the semester and Blaine had arranged to tutor him after the school day finished on a Tuesday and Wednesday evening. The tutoring sessions were paying off and the student was doing much better in Blaine’s class. 

He walked down the stairs and as he passed the senior choir room, he heard voices. He stopped to listen, memories of his own time as a Warbler flooding his mind.

The door was ajar and he peered in, spotting Kurt immediately. He wanted nothing more than to sit in on one of their rehearsals but he knew it was sometimes unnerving for the students to have a teacher present. 

He settled for just watching the students he could see.

Kurt stood next to Nick and they seemed to be leading the rest of the Warblers in a clearly unrehearsed number from the smiles he could see on the students’ faces. 

Kurt took Nick’s hands in his own and danced with him. Blaine smiled to himself as he saw Kurt’s tilt back and a rich laughter fill the room. 

“Nicky!” a voice called out and a moment later, Jeff came into Blaine’s line of vision. 

Blaine shook his head and quickly left, eager to head home and relax with a book for the evening. He knew he had tests to mark but the headache he had called for a glass of wine and a good book. 

That fantasy was short-lived, however, as he had just stepped out of the shower when there was a knock on his door. He hastily fastened his towel around his waist and answered it.

“Blaine, where are your clothes?”

Blaine rolled his eyes. “Hi, Wes, do come in.”

He left the door open for Wes to enter and he headed to his bedroom to quickly dry off and get dressed. He headed back out a few minutes later and found Wes in the kitchen. 

“I brought dinner,” Wes said, pulling out the boxes of Chinese he had brought with him.

“Oh, good, I’m starving,” Blaine said, pouring Wes a glass of wine as well. 

“Wine on a Wednesday, Blaine?” Wes asked, eyebrows raised.

“Shush,” Blaine said. “It’s been a hard week.”

Wes snorted. “Luckily I like wine, so I will share the bottle with you.”

Blaine just grinned and they headed to the living room with the boxes of food and wine. Blaine opened a box as he listened to Wes ramble on about his own week. 

He was half-way through his first box of shrimp fried rice with lemon chicken when Wes brought up the topic of Sally. 

“She likes you,” Blaine said through his mouthful of food.

“Blaine, manners,” Wes admonished.

Blaine rolled his eyes and picked up his glass of wine to wash down his food. “We had dinner a couple of weeks ago. She spoke highly of your kissing skills.”

Blaine grinned as Wes’ cheeks flushed.

“Yes, well,” Wes coughed a little and turned his attention to his food. “She is a lovely woman.”

“She is,” Blaine agreed. “She’s a good cook too.”

Wes nodded. “I know,” he replied, smiling.

Blaine smiled and they chatted a little more about how Sally and Wes’ relationship had progressed. They had seen each other a few more times since the initial first date and Blaine could tell that Wes really liked her. It was sweet. Wes hadn’t had a girlfriend since his sophomore year of college. Wes had focused more on his studies and his girlfriend at the time was living in California. The distance had been too much for them to deal with, so they decided that separating was the best thing for them.

“I think Sally could be the real thing,” Wes said after they had finished eating. He sat back against the couch, glass of wine half way to his lips.

Blaine raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he asked. “It isn’t too soon to tell?”

Wes shook his head. “Not at all,” he replied. “She’s amazing, Blaine. We connect so well and everything we do together is… _amazing_.”

Blaine smiled, unable to help himself. Wes sounded so smitten. He was glad that Wes had found someone who could keep up with him intellectually as well as emotionally. Wes and Sally had a lot of things in common from what he had heard from their conversations and they definitely had a spark. Blaine was a little jealous but mostly he was happy for his best friend. He deserved happiness. 

“I know it’s early days yet but I think I might take her to my parents’ cabin for the weekend. We could use a little alone time.”

“Wow,” Blaine started. “You’re really serious about her, aren’t you?”

Wes nodded, sipping his wine. “That and we both have room mates that seem to constantly be around.”

Blaine laughed. “It’s times like that that I’m glad I live alone. Not that I have anyone to bring home but if I ever do, I know that I’ll be alone… Room mate free… I can be as loud as I want…”

“I get it, I get it,” Wes said with a smile and a shake of his head. “I really should find an apartment for myself.”

“You should,” Blaine agreed with a nod. 

“Speaking of relationships, anyone on the horizon for you?” 

Blaine snorted. “I don’t think so,” he replied. 

“So there’s no one in the Dalton staff who takes your fancy?”

“Definitely not,” Blaine said. “I’m the youngest male there by at least ten years. Some of the teachers are still there that we had. It’s so strange being their colleagues now.”

“Does old Mr Peters still teach History?” Wes asked.

Blaine nodded. “And the kids are as bored as we were back then.”

“Ouch,” Wes said, making a face. “Still, I think a boyfriend would be good for you, Blaine.”

Blaine gave Wes a pointed look. “I doubt that,” he replied. “I don’t need a guy to complete me, I’m fine the way I am.”

“And that’s why you were drinking wine, alone, on a Wednesday night?”

“Yeah, shut up,” Blaine said without heat and he took a sip from his glass. “I like how I am.”

“Sure, sure,” Wes said, waving Blaine off.

Blaine shook his head and affectionately poked Wes in the side as he listened as he changed the subject to talk about something else. 

Blaine wondered if Wes was right. Maybe he _did_ need a boyfriend. At the very least it would get his mind off one Kurt Hummel.


	5. Chapter 5

As he slowly shuffled towards his dorm room, Kurt absently turned the page of the book he was reading. He didn’t usually walk and read at the same time but he had a French test next week and he wanted to make sure his notes were perfect. He muttered under his breath the different sentences he had written out for himself to memorise – part of the test was an oral presentation and he wanted his French to be flawless. 

He rested his hand on the door knob to his dorm and finished his last sentence before unlocking it and pushing it open.

“Oh, Nicky,” Jeff’s distinct voice groaned. “There. Right there. Oh, god, that feels so good.”

“Here?” Nick asked.

“Yes! Oh, god, don’t stop, Nicky, don’t stop.”

_You’ve got to be kidding me,_ Kurt thought, freezing where he was in the small walkway between the door and the rest of the room. 

He knew that Nick and Jeff were sexually active but they knew he had to study and therefore would be in the room most of the night. Normally Jeff let Kurt know in advance if he and Nick wanted to be alone.

He sighed and bit his lip. Surely they would have heard him close the door but he couldn’t risk it. Kurt stayed where he was, torn. His book was _just there_ on the edge of his desk. He could grab it and make a run for it before either of them realised but he didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that he was standing there… _listening._

Kurt was frozen. He had no idea what to do. He couldn’t keep listening to his two best friends having sex but he also couldn’t turn around and head back out of the dorm – they would _definitely_ hear him if he did. 

He was saved the trouble of deciding what to do when the floorboards underneath his feet squeaked. 

“Who’s there?” Jeff called out.

“It’s just me,” Kurt replied sheepishly. 

“You can come in,” Jeff said.

Kurt swallowed thickly and covered his eyes with his hand and he stepped into the room properly. “I just need my book; I’ll be out of your hair in just a sec…”

“Kurt,” Nick started. “Why are you covering your eyes?”

“I… uh…”

“He thinks we’re having sex,” Jeff replied, amusement clear in his tone. “We’re not, Kurt.”

Kurt tentatively looked over and saw that Nick was straddling Jeff, who was lying on his stomach on the bed. His shirt was off and his pants were still on, as were Nick’s and Nick was giving Jeff a massage.

“You okay?” Nick asked.

Kurt shook his head. “I’m fine,” he said immediately, face flushed. “I just…I just heard Jeff moaning as I walked in.”

“Jeff pulled a muscle in fencing today,” Nick explained. “I was just loosening it for him. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t break the rules.”

“Good,” Kurt said and he set his French books down on his desk. “Though I love you both, I don’t need to see that… Again.”

Jeff laughed and sat up properly, stretching his arms above his head. “That feels a lot better. Thanks, Nicky.” 

“Any time,” Nick replied with a smile.

Jeff grinned and leant over, kissing him soundly on the lips. Kurt smiled at the pair and turned back to his notes. 

“I’m gonna have a shower,” Jeff said after a few minutes. 

“Okay,” Kurt said with a nod. “Nick, you can help me study for our French test.”

Jeff made a face at them and left the room, shutting the bathroom door behind him rather loudly. Kurt rolled his eyes good naturedly and moved to his bed. 

“Come help me,” Kurt said, patting the space next to him.

Nick sat down next to him and picked up Kurt’s book. “You know all of this though,” he said. “You’re the best in the class, why are you stressing so much?”

“Because I need to get a perfect score,” Kurt replied. “If I don’t, it will drag my average down.”

Nick shook his head. “Alright, alright, let’s start here.”

They slipped into French for the entirety of their conversation, testing each other on different phrases and words that were likely to come up in the test. Kurt said how nervous he was about the oral presentation and Nick assured him he would be fine.

They were still talking in French when Jeff exited the bathroom, towel slung low around his waist. 

“That’s no fair,” Jeff said. “You know I can’t speak French.”

“You would if you took the class,” Kurt replied with a smile. “I don’t know why you chose Latin.”

“Because it will help when I’m a spy,” Jeff deadpanned. 

Kurt grinned. “You’re a dork,” he said affectionately and he looked away as Jeff got dressed. 

“You say that now, Kurt Hummel, but one day, I am going to be the best spy ever,” Jeff said as he slipped his shirt over his head. 

Nick cleared his throat pointedly. 

“When Nick _and_ I are the best spies ever,” Jeff amended. 

“You’re both dorks,” Kurt returned, not looking up from his notes. “Ugh, this is going to be the death of me.”

“Stop stressing so much,” Jeff said. “We all know that you speak French fluently, Kurt. You’re going to ace the test. You’ll be fine.”

Kurt gave Jeff a smile. “Thanks. I’m still nervous though.”

“If it helps, I’ll let you borrow my boyfriend for the evening so you two can speak French together?”

“Um, hi. Don’t I get a say in any of this?” Nick asked.

“No,” both Kurt and Jeff said in unison before bursting out laughing.

Nick soon joined in and Kurt held his stomach from laughing so hard. He closed his book over and stood. 

“I need coffee,” he said. “I’m going to do a Starbucks run, do you two want anything?”

“Latte, please,” Nick replied.

“A bagel,” Jeff added. “And a hazelnut latte. Please.”

Kurt smiled and waved both boys off when they tried to give him money. “I’ll be back soon and then you can help me study some more.”

Kurt left the room, locking the door behind himself and he headed for the car park, desperately needing a coffee fix.

~*~

Kurt passed his French test with flying colours and he headed home that weekend feeling a lot less stressed. He felt like he hadn’t been home in weeks as each time he had, he’d been swamped with school work, despite his schedule to keep on top of things.

“Pass me the wrench, will you, son?” Burt asked.

“Sure,” Kurt said, picking up the tool to give to his dad.

“How’s school going?” Burt asked as he loosened the bolts on one of the tires. 

“It’s good,” Kurt replied. “I aced my French test the other day and I’m top of the class in English, well, apart from Nick and Jeff, that is.”

Kurt continued to fill his dad in as he changed the tires on the car and Burt filled him in on the things that had been going on at the shop. They had been having a steady month, which was good and Finn had been helping out wherever he could too. Kurt smiled at the mention of his step-brother. He had hardly seen him so far that weekend. Granted, it was still early in the morning and Finn didn’t like to wake before noon on a weekend. 

Kurt figured he and Finn could do something that afternoon together and maybe he would invite Mercedes over as well. He missed her. He missed all of his friends that he had at McKinley High before transferring and while he tried to keep in touch with them all, sometimes it wasn’t probable to do so. 

“Do you mind if I cook tonight?” Kurt asked as he slipped underneath the car he and his dad were working on. “I haven’t cooked in ages.”

“Sure, kid,” Burt replied with an amused tone. “Just make sure you cook extra – Finn’s having another growth spurt.”

“Again?” Kurt half-exclaimed, concentrating on the task at hand. “I’ll go to the store later and pick up some things. Can I invite Mercedes over too?”

“Sure,” Burt replied. “How does it look under there?”

Kurt wheeled back out and sat up. “I’ve seen worse,” he replied with a slight smile.

“Alright, get back under there then and work some of that Hummel magic,” Burt said and Kurt slid back under the vehicle with ease. 

He had missed this. Missed working with his dad, missed the ease that came with dealing with cars. It was somewhat soothing for Kurt. He had learnt a lot about cars when he was little. It was sort of a trade-off for the tea parties he made his dad have with him after his mom had died. It had helped though and it had scored Kurt his Navigator for his sweet sixteenth. 

When he was younger, he had a fondness for math and a severe dislike for some of the kids in his class, so he spent his spare time keeping the books in order for his dad and checking the inventory every now and then. When he was ten, his dad had suggested that they work together in the shop. Kurt had been hesitant at first but when Burt had produced a pair of coveralls with his name embroidered on it, Kurt couldn’t say no. His dad had gone to the effort of trying to get their relationship to work and Kurt knew an olive branch when he saw one.

He started to drive when he was eleven and by age twelve, Kurt knew more about cars than most of the guys that worked with his dad. It had come in handy whenever there was someone off sick or if Kurt just wanted to get away from it all. He knew, from an early age, that he didn’t have much in common with his dad but this was something that they could do together and Kurt cherished that.

He knew he was different and he knew that his dad knew it too. Though they never spoke of it, it was there, just hanging over their heads. If they kept busy, neither of them brought it up and they lived in a rose-coloured bubble.

As Kurt got older, it got harder to hide, harder not to talk about. He had an annual subscription to _Vogue_ and he would spend more of his free time looking at fashion rather than spending time with his dad.

He still worked in the shop, though, every weekend, without fail, they just had less and less to talk about as Kurt got older. He wished it had been different but they bonded over cars, and at that age, Kurt took whatever he could. 

After he had come out, his relationship had changed with his dad. He felt he could be more open and even though they had been all each other had for more than nine years, it felt good for Kurt to finally be able to be himself around his dad. 

There had been moments where Kurt thought that his dad hated him for his sexuality but when he had stood up for him, when he had been the over-protective father that he was against the bullies at Kurt’s school and had stood up to Finn despite putting his own happiness on the line, Kurt knew that they would be okay.

He missed his dad so much during the school week though. It was for the best, of course. Dalton was safe. After the death threats he had received and the constant bullying, Dalton was the only safe place for Kurt to be. 

Kurt worried, though. He worried about his dad, his step mother and his step brother. He worried that they would get used to him not being there and they would become an estranged family like he saw with so many other families. Kurt didn’t want that. He loved his family, however odd it seemed to some people, more than anything else.

So, whenever he was home, he made the most of the time he had by spending it with his family. 

“Alright, I think it’s done,” Kurt said as he wheeled back out from under the car again, wiping his hands on his coveralls. 

“Let’s see then,” Burt replied, starting the car. It started the first go and purred like a kitten. “That’s my boy.”

Kurt smiled and put the cap back on the oil tin to save from any accidents. “What’s next on the list?” he asked, looking at his dad expectantly.

He spent the next two hours with his dad working on cars before Burt ushered him out so he could go pick up some groceries for their dinner that night. Kurt wandered down the fresh vegetable aisle and picked out the items he needed. Kurt knew better than to go too fancy for dinner, especially with Finn’s appetite but it didn’t stop Kurt from experimenting with different things. As long as it wasn’t tofu, Finn would eat almost anything that Kurt cooked. 

Kurt hummed to himself as he put different things into the basket he was carrying. Once he was done, he paid for his items and headed to the butcher’s department of the grocery store to get some fresh meat. Kurt soon made his way home and phoned Mercedes as soon as he got in. 

“What’s cooking, good looking?” Carole said as she entered the kitchen.

Kurt smiled at his step mother. “Chicken with ratatouille for dinner,” he started. “And for dessert I’m making aniseed and chocolate parfait.”

“Sounds delicious,” Carole replied. “Would you like a hand?”

Kurt started to shake his head but then he nodded. “Sure,” he replied. “I’m just doing all the preparation now. Mercedes will be here soon so she’ll probably help. It has to cook for about four and a half hours.”

“Well, the more hands, the quicker it will get done,” Carole replied with a smile. 

Kurt smiled back and slipped his apron on, watching as Carole did the same. They washed their hands and started to start preparing dinner. 

Mercedes arrived just as Kurt had put their meal in the oven to cook and he enveloped her in a massive hug.

“Oh, boo, I’ve missed you,” Mercedes said. 

Kurt grinned at the nickname. “I’ve missed you too,” he said. “We have lots of catching up to do.”

“You know it,” Mercedes replied. 

“Have you had lunch yet?” Kurt asked. “I can make something if you’re hungry?”

“Ohh, can I have one of your famous grilled cheese sandwiches?” Mercedes asked.

Kurt crinkled his nose slightly in distaste. “You’ve been talking to Finn about those, haven’t you? I swear I made him about three last night despite the fact we had a big family dinner. It was the first thing he asked for when I walked in the door.”

Mercedes laughed. “They’re delicious, you know it.”

Once Mercedes had her grilled cheese sandwich and Kurt had a sandwich for himself, they headed up to Kurt’s room so he could catch up on all of the latest McKinley High gossip. 

Mercedes was half way through telling Kurt about the Quinn and Sam fiasco when Finn woke up and stumbled into Kurt’s room, yawning. 

“Is that a grilled cheese sandwich?” he asked.

“Yours is in the fridge,” Kurt replied automatically.

Finn grinned widely. “You’re the best brother ever,” he said and he left.

Kurt smiled fondly and turned his attention back to Mercedes as he finished off his own sandwich.

“So, how are you? How’s Dalton treating you?” Mercedes asked.

“It’s good,” Kurt said, wiping his hands on a napkin. “Classes are harder; Nick and Jeff are still the most sickly sweet couple I’ve ever seen and they’re still the smartest. I aced my French test that I had a couple of days ago and I have a crush on my English teacher.”

Mercedes paused and looked at him. “Say that again?”

Kurt flushed. “He’s so dreamy, ’Cedes,” he said, moving to rest back against his pillows. “He’s everything a teacher should be and _more_.”

Kurt started gushing about his and Mr Anderson’s conversations but he carefully left out the part where they had met in the bookstore a few weeks before and had coffee afterwards.

“He listens to me,” Kurt said. “We talked for three hours, three _hours_ about _The Great Gatsby_ and the homoerotic subtext. He has to be gay.”

Mercedes chuckled. “Do you have it bad or what.”

“No… I… Well, maybe a little,” Kurt replied, flushing. “He’s the perfect teacher though. He stays behind for hours after school has finished to help students who are struggling. He actually listens to what we have to say and takes our thoughts and perspectives on board rather than brushing them off like half of the other teachers do _and_ he wears these gorgeous black framed glasses that just make him so dreamy.”

Mercedes smiled. “I wish I could see Mr Dreamboat now, too.”

Kurt grinned. “Maybe at my graduation. Unless I can get Jeff or Nick to take a sneaky photo for me so I can send it to you.”

Their conversation soon ventured back to the McKinley High glee club drama. Even though Kurt missed his friends like crazy, he didn’t miss all of the drama they had. He loved hearing about it though, as it would all, no doubt, lead to an exceptional play or story that he would one day write. 

“We should go to the movies tonight,” Kurt said. “You, Finn and me. I feel like I’m neglecting him a little.”

“As long as we see something with hot guys, I don’t care what we see,” Mercedes replied.

“I’ll go ask Finn if he’s busy tonight then,” Kurt said, slipping off his bed to find his step brother.

~*~

Kurt spent the rest of his weekend with his family and Mercedes. After dinner, he, Mercedes and Finn went to see a movie and if Kurt wasn’t mistaken, he had seen Finn and Mercedes share a special look more than once. Kurt thought it couldn’t be better – his best friend and his brother being romantically involved? He would love it and it would be the best thing to come home to on a weekend.

He kept quiet about his observations though – he didn’t want to put something into their minds or comment too early on something that might not ever exist. He just wanted his two favourite people to be happy and if they found happiness in each other, well, then, he wasn’t going to stand in the way.

Kurt parked his Navigator in the Dalton parking lot mid-Sunday afternoon. He had a lovely lunch with his family before leaving about 2 pm to beat the afternoon traffic on the highway. He made it in good time and decided that while it was still sunny that he would walk down to the little coffee shop nearby. He didn’t feel like Starbucks and he didn’t feel like driving anywhere else, so he walked the short distance to the small coffee shop that was a few blocks away from the school.

Kurt stepped into the short queue and waited as a curly haired male placed his order. He looked over when he heard the voice and smiled to himself when he realised it was Mr Anderson. Kurt tried to focus his attention on something _other_ than the lovely sound of his teacher’s voice but he was complimenting the barista and Kurt could see him smile from the slight angle he was at.

“Kurt, hi,” Mr Anderson said with a broad smile as he stepped out of the queue. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Kurt replied, at a loss for words. “Thought I would get a coffee before heading in for the afternoon.”

“Me too,” Mr Anderson replied. “Well, mine is more to keep me awake while I mark papers. How has your weekend been?”

“Relaxing,” Kurt answered. “I got all of my studying done before heading home for the weekend so I got to spend some much needed time with my family.”

“I wish I could have traded with you,” Mr Anderson started before letting Kurt place his coffee order. 

Kurt paid for his coffee and stepped to the side with Mr Anderson to wait for them to be made.

“I pretty much spent the entire weekend cooped up in my apartment grading papers,” Mr Anderson continued. “I wish more of my students were like you, Kurt. Your papers are so easy to mark.”

Kurt flushed a little. “Isn’t that the challenge of being a teacher though?”

Mr Anderson let out a sigh. “It is,” he replied but he smiled. “I love it but sometimes I wish papers would grade themselves.”

Kurt chuckled and shook his head. “Maybe it will happen in the future. Who knows with technology these days.”

Their coffees were placed on the counter next to them a few moments later and Kurt picked his up and added the sweetener to it while Mr Anderson added three sugars to his own. Kurt couldn’t help but stare when Mr Anderson licked the wooden stirrer clean before tossing it into the trash. He put the lid back on and took a sip and Kurt had to force himself to look away.

“Either way,” Mr Anderson said, carrying on their conversation as they exited the coffee shop. “I do love teaching, especially when there are students like you in my class. You’re so responsive to all of the material and it constantly reminds me why I love this job so much.”

“If it helps, you’re a great teacher,” Kurt said honestly. “Even Jeff and Nick like you and they’re quite hard to impress when it comes to the faculty members at Dalton.”

“Oh?”

Kurt nodded, taking a sip of his own coffee while they walked. “They’re both sixth generation Dalton boys, I think,” he continued. “Well, that and they’re both practically geniuses.”

“They’re your best friends, right?” Mr Anderson asked. 

“Yeah, ever since I started at Dalton last year,” Kurt replied. “Jeff’s my room mate and he and Nick have been together since birth.”

“Wow,” Mr Anderson said, shocked. “That’s longer than most marital relationships I’ve heard of.”

Kurt smiled. “They’re cute and they know it,” he said. “They’re good for each other though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as in love as those two are.”

“I didn’t even have _time_ for a relationship in high school,” Mr Anderson commented. “I was too busy studying and my best friend was the same. Except, he had a girlfriend of course.”

Before Kurt even realised, they were standing out the front of an apartment building. He blinked and looked up, impressed at it. He realised they had stopped but Mr Anderson kept talking. 

“…it’s a silly connection, really,” Mr Anderson carried on. “But it’s something I’ve held with me through childhood. Like you and your mom’s stories.”

Kurt looked back at Mr Anderson and nodded. “I have a confession,” he started. “I haven’t actually ever read _Little Women_.”

Mr Anderson’s eyes widened comically. “You haven’t?”

Kurt shook his head, giving Mr Anderson and apologetic look. “I haven’t.”

“That’s just… I’m sorry but we need to rectify that right away,” Mr Anderson said, aghast.

If Kurt hadn’t thought that Mr Anderson’s expression was so adorable, he would have laughed. “The opportunity never presented itself,” he admitted. 

“I have a copy, you can borrow it,” Mr Anderson said, pulling out his keys. “Oh… Um, this is my apartment building.”

Kurt looked up at the building again. “I’m impressed,” he said. “It looks very… Ohio chic.”

Mr Anderson smiled softly. “If you’d like, you can come up and borrow that book?”

Kurt felt his heart thud in his chest. “O-okay,” he replied with a nod.

Mr Anderson kept talking on the elevator ride up to his floor about the book and Kurt tried his best to listen. If it were anyone else and in any other situation, warning bells would have gone off in Kurt’s head but they never did. He knew that he didn’t know Mr Anderson very well, despite their often frequent and lengthy conversations, but he trusted him and that was enough of a reason to follow him into his apartment.

“Mind the mess,” Mr Anderson said as they stepped inside. “It’s been a _long_ weekend.”

Kurt looked around the apartment, taking everything in. There was no ‘mess’ to be found, just a stack of papers sitting haphazardly on the desk in the corner of the room, and an over flowing bookshelf next to it. 

“I’ll be right back,” Mr Anderson said. 

“Okay,” Kurt replied and Mr Anderson disappeared. He walked closer to the bookshelf, running his index finger along the spines of the various books lining the shelves. He stopped at a picture that sat on the shelf and he picked it up. It was clearly a younger Mr Anderson smiling brightly at him. He had his arm around a good looking boy around the same age and Kurt couldn’t help but wonder if that was Wes, Mr Anderson’s best friend.

Before he could properly finish his thought, Mr Anderson reappeared. Kurt set the frame back on the shelf and Mr Anderson smiled.

“That’s Wes and I the day after we graduated,” Mr Anderson explained, tone fond. 

“You both look really happy,” Kurt replied.

Mr Anderson smiled and nodded. “Here,” he said, holding out a well-worn copy of _Little Women_. “I’ve just finished re-reading it. _Again_.”

“Was it as good as the first time?” Kurt asked. 

“Better.”

Kurt gently took the book from Mr Anderson’s hand and their fingers brushed against each other’s at the movement. Kurt grasped the book firmly and stared at his teacher.

“Would you like some coffee?” Mr Anderson asked quietly.

Kurt silently held up his take away coffee that he had purchased with Mr Anderson. 

“Oh, right,” Mr Anderson said. “I forgot about that.”

“It’s okay, it’s almost cold anyway,” Kurt replied. 

“How about biscotti?” Mr Anderson offered. 

“I… Sure,” Kurt nodded, following Mr Anderson into the small kitchen. 

He took the offered biscotti and bit into it, enjoying the buttery and chocolate flavours mixing together. Kurt’s gaze went to Mr Anderson’s lips and he watched as a few stray crumbs stuck to his bottom lip. 

Kurt wanted nothing more than to reach out and brush away the crumbs with his thumb, or better yet, his lips, but he knew it wasn’t going to happen. 

“You… uh…”

Kurt looked up from Mr Anderson’s lips and caught his gaze. He was gesturing to a spot on Kurt’s face and Kurt hastily wiped his mouth, feeling the crumbs on his fingers. 

“All gone?” he asked and Mr Anderson nodded. 

Kurt wasn’t sure who initiated it but he was really didn’t care. One moment, he was staring at Mr Anderson, watching the way his tongue darted out of his mouth to lick the crumbs off his own lips and the next, they were kissing in the middle of Mr Anderson’s kitchen. 

Kurt’s biscotti dropped out of his hand as he reached his hand up, curling it into the back of Mr Anderson’s hair, keeping him close. Mr Anderson’s lips moved against his own and Kurt could taste the faint hint of his coffee and the fresh taste of biscotti on his tongue as they kissed.

Even if the moment never lasted, Kurt would remember it forever. His first kiss was with his English teacher.


	6. Chapter 6

Blaine was eight years old when he first ever got into trouble for something. It hadn’t entirely been his fault but his parents had reprimanded him anyway. 

A boy in his class had teased Blaine, saying that he was a _girl_ and Blaine had had enough. He had shoved the boy in an attempt to prove his manliness, even at the age of eight. Looking back, it probably wasn’t the smartest move since it had not only landed him in detention but his parents had also grounded him for a week. Usually, that wouldn’t have been a big deal for Blaine but that same weekend was the birthday party of a girl named Felicity and _everyone_ had been invited. 

Blaine had been the only boy in the class not to attend and since then, he had made a habit of not doing anything wrong.

Somewhere in the back of Blaine’s mind, he knew, _knew_ that kissing Kurt – kissing a _student_ was very, very wrong – but at that very moment, he couldn’t think of the reasons as to _why_.

From the very first moment Blaine had laid eyes on Kurt, he had been attracted. From the very first moment Kurt had spoken, Blaine had been enticed. As they began to talk more, in class, out of class, at bookstores and coffee shops, Blaine realised that there was the possibility that he was falling in love with a student.

It was ridiculous, of course. Blaine was a professional. He was the youngest person ever to teach at Dalton and he had put a lot of effort into being the best teacher he could be. 

It was funny how all of that didn’t seem to matter when Kurt was pressed up against him, kissing him back with equal fervour.

Kissing Kurt was exactly how Blaine imagined it would be. Kurt was a little bit taller than he was and though that wasn’t hard, it didn’t feel like there was much distance between them at all. 

Kurt’s hand was curled in his hair, fingers splayed against the back of his neck and Blaine couldn’t resist resting his hands on Kurt’s hips, something he had thought about doing more than he cared to admit. 

Eventually, the kiss broke and Blaine felt light headed. He licked his lips and he took in Kurt’s slightly dazed look and flushed cheeks but the happy smile on his lips won Blaine over. 

Blaine gently stroked Kurt’s cheek with his thumb, his mind screaming at him to step away from the other boy, that this was illegal, immoral and that he could damn well lose his job and end up in jail if he did it again.

“I…” Blaine started, glancing at Kurt once again.

All train of thought halted and he pressed his lips to Kurt’s once more, unable to stop himself. The second kiss was much more heated. Blaine held Kurt as close as he could, fearing that if he let go, it would turn out to be a dream and he couldn’t deal with that right now. 

The pressure of Kurt’s lips moving against his own, Kurt’s tongue in his mouth and Kurt’s hand in his hair kept Blaine firmly in his little fantasy. He didn’t want it to end. Kurt tasted like heaven and Blaine wasn’t going to give it up in that moment for anything.

Kurt made a little noise that went straight to Blaine’s stomach and he found himself feeling eager to get Kurt to make it again. 

“No,” Blaine whispered, breaking the kiss. “We can’t do this.”

“Huh?”

Blaine pressed his forehead against Kurt’s own for a brief moment. “This is wrong, Kurt. I’m your teacher.”

“I’m legal,” Kurt replied breathily. “I turned eighteen at the start of July. This is perfectly legal.”

“If I wasn’t your teacher, it would be,” Blaine said softly, trying not to gaze at Kurt’s pink lips again. “But I am, so this is very, _very_ illegal.”

“I won’t tell if you won’t,” Kurt whispered. 

Blaine bit his lip. “You have no idea how tempting that is.”

“Believe me, I do,” Kurt replied. “You have no idea how long I have wanted to do this. No idea.”

“Oh, I have some,” Blaine said, pressing another quick kiss to Kurt’s lips. “But we can’t. We really can’t.”

“Then why do you keep kissing me?” Kurt asked softly.

Blaine was stumped. For all intents and purposes, he _knew_ how utterly wrong it was. He shouldn’t have invited Kurt into his apartment. He shouldn’t have invited Kurt to stay longer and he _definitely_ shouldn’t have kissed Kurt but he couldn’t stop himself. It seemed that Kurt at least returned his feelings somewhat or they wouldn’t keep kissing.

“Your lips clearly have me under a spell,” Blaine whispered, brushing his lips against Kurt’s once more. 

“Oh, really?” Kurt asked in a bemused voice. “ _My_ lips have you under a spell?”

“Mmhmm,” Blaine replied with a nod.

Kurt smiled and kissed him again. The kiss was softer and less rushed than the first ones had been. The tenderness of it made Blaine’s stomach flip and he wound his arms around Kurt’s middle, keeping him close. Kurt’s lips were soft under his own and Blaine wished that they had met under different circumstances. 

Kurt was everything that Blaine wanted in a boyfriend. He was intelligent, he was funny, they had so much in common and Blaine knew that despite it all, they needed to stop what they were doing. 

“Kurt, we need to stop,” Blaine said. “We do.”

“I know,” Kurt replied, pulling back. 

Blaine gently stroked Kurt’s cheek once with his thumb before letting his hand drop to his side. “I wish you were a little older or at least out of school… We can’t do this though. It was a mistake and…”

“But you like me,” Kurt interrupted. “If that kiss is anything to go by you _really_ like me. Why can’t we do this?”

“It’s illegal,” Blaine replied. “Not to mention immoral and what if someone finds out? I’ll end up in jail.”

Kurt bit his lip and stepped back a little. “No, you’re right,” he said. “I’m so stupid. I’m sorry… I’ll just go.”

Blaine opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut and nodded instead. “Can I trust your discretion on this?” he asked.

Kurt nodded. “Of course,” he replied. “No one will find out.”

Blaine watched as Kurt left his apartment and he slumped against the kitchen counter, putting his head in his hands. He couldn’t believe how stupid he had been, kissing Kurt like he had. It was completely out of line, not to mention it was a very risky move. Kurt could have reacted badly and even though he kissed back, he was still the impressionable one in the situation.

Blaine sighed loudly and poured the remainder of his now cold coffee down the sink. He needed to clear his head for a while and stop thinking of how perfect Kurt’s lips were against his own.

~*~

The next day was particularly hard for Blaine. He felt a little distracted in all of his lessons and he knew why. He tried to focus on what he was saying to his students but with every minute it became closer and closer to the last lesson of the day: his senior AP English class.

As the bell sounded to signal the start of the last period of the day, Blaine found himself wishing that the lesson would go faster than it had ever before. He gathered everyone’s papers from an essay he had set at the beginning of the week before and he walked around the room, putting them on the assigned desks before his students started to filter in.

Blaine finished handing out the papers and perched on the edge of his desk, watching the class. 

“Overall,” he started. “Your papers were good. I still think there are some aspects we need to go over as a class so everyone has a better grasp of the material.”

There were a few murmurs and Blaine carried on with the lesson as planned. 

He almost let out a sigh of relief when the bell sounded at the end of the fifty minutes and he dismissed the students. He turned to the whiteboard and started erasing the notes he had written on there during the period. He was almost finished when he felt a presence behind him. Without even turning around, he knew that it was Kurt. There was no one else in this class that ever stayed behind to talk to him.

“Mr Anderson?” 

Blaine turned around, trying to push any romantic thoughts to the back of his mind. “Kurt,” he said. “What can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to give you your book back.”

Blaine looked at the offered book, seeing that it was his well-worn copy of _Little Women_. “You read it already?” he asked, unable to stop himself. 

“Yeah,” Kurt replied with a nod. “I had nothing to do last night and I really enjoyed it.”

Blaine forced back the smile that wanted to cross his face. “I’m glad you did.”

They fell silent and Blaine could just about _see_ the tension between them. He wanted nothing more than to reach across and pull Kurt in for a hug, or a kiss but he couldn’t. He wanted to smooth away the frown that was on Kurt’s face and he wanted to be the reason that Kurt smiled but all his wants were useless. He could want Kurt as much as he did but he _couldn’t_ act on it. 

“Mr Anderson,” Kurt started softly. “I think we need to talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Blaine replied quietly. “Kurt, please.”

“Mr Anderson…” Kurt paused. “ _Blaine_. I think there is.”

Blaine swallowed thickly and stood up, moving to close the door to the classroom. “Kurt, we’ve talked about this. We _can’t_ have anything other than that kiss.”

“But I want to,” Kurt replied. “I’ve thought about this a lot and I want this. I want you.”

Blaine shook his head. “Kurt, we can’t. It was one kiss and that’s all it ever will be.”

Kurt bit his lip and nodded. “Okay,” he replied. “Fine… Yeah, okay.”

Even as he watched Kurt nod and fumble his way through his words, Blaine felt his entire being ache to be closer to Kurt. He knew there were so many risks involved and there was so much that they could _both_ lose from this but his mind screamed ‘damn it all’ and he reached out and pulled Kurt closer and crashed his lips against Kurt’s own. 

Kurt tensed for a brief second before relaxing completely. Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt’s middle, keeping him close. 

In the back of his mind, he knew that anyone could walk into the classroom and catch them – it _was_ a school, after all but Blaine couldn’t bring himself to care. He all but melted when Kurt’s tongue brushed ever so slightly against his own, slow and hesitant. Blaine moved a hand to gently cup Kurt’s cheek, kissing him for a few long moments before pulling back. 

Blaine took in Kurt’s flushed cheeks and he smiled, thumb slowly stroking Kurt’s cheek. Blaine pressed another kiss to Kurt’s lips before putting a little bit of distance between them. He perched on the edge of his desk and took Kurt’s hand in his own for a brief moment. 

“This is really risky,” he said in a whisper.

“I know,” Kurt replied, catching his gaze. “I won’t do anything to jeopardise this.”

Blaine nodded. “I know,” he said. “We need to be careful. _Really_ careful.”

Kurt took a step close, resting his hand on top of Blaine’s thigh, and he squeezed softly. “I will. I promise.”

“We can’t do anything here on campus,” Blaine added, placing his hand next to Kurt’s, inching their fingers closer together. “There are so many risks, Kurt.”

“I’m aware of the risks,” Kurt breathed. “Please, Blaine.”

Blaine bit his lip and nodded, tangling their fingers together. “This is crazy. I can’t believe I’m even doing this.”

“…Do you not want to?” Kurt asked hesitantly. 

“I do,” Blaine replied immediately. “I really do but this isn’t exactly how I pictured my first year of teaching going.” He took a breath and took his hand back from Kurt’s to take his glasses off and clean them on a tissue. “Kurt… I… I don’t want to screw this up.”

“We won’t,” Kurt said assuredly. “We’ll be careful. And… well… Curfew isn’t until ten thirty.”

With that, Kurt gave Blaine a lingering look and left the room. 

Blaine swallowed thickly and slipped his glasses back onto his face. He let out a shaky breath and tried to calm himself down. While his whole life had just turned upside down, he needed to at least give off an air of calmness. He couldn’t risk any student or staff member finding out about them.

He couldn’t really believe that he had just initiated another kiss with Kurt. He knew he was stupid sometimes but this really had to take the cake.

~*~

“You’d think, being a boarding school, that there would be better food than this,” Sally said one afternoon as she and Blaine headed to the cafeteria during their lunch break.

Blaine laughed and shook his head. “I think, because we’re teachers, we’re meant to bring our own food. Besides, I’ve seen worse.”

Sally crinkled her nose a little and Blaine paid for their lunches, moving to sit at a table as far away from the students as possible. From where they sat, Blaine could see Kurt clearly and their gazes locked. Kurt gave him a brief smile and turned back to his friends. 

Blaine licked his lips and focused his attention on Sally again. 

“We should go out,” Sally said as she opened her milk.

“Where to?” Blaine asked, taking a bite of his hamburger.

“We could go bowling,” Sally replied. “You, me, Wes and a blind date for you…”

Blaine stopped chewing and flicked his gaze back towards Kurt who had his attention on his friends as they ate their lunch. 

“A blind date?” he asked, swallowing his bite. “Uh…”

“C’mon, Blaine,” Sally said with an encouraging smile. “He’s an old friend from college; I think you’ll really like him.”

“Umm,” Blaine blinked, setting down his burger. “I… Sally, not that I don’t appreciate it but I don’t need it.”

“Blaine, you can’t seriously tell me you _enjoy_ being alone at night time?” Sally quipped. “I’ve been teaching for six years now and it can get a little… _stressful_. It’s nice to have someone there to relieve the tension.”

Blaine’s nose scrunched automatically. “I did not need to know that about you and Wes,” he said. 

Sally smiled. “What can I say? He’s _great_ at relieving tension.”

Blaine blanched and sipped at his soda, shaking his head at his colleague. “If I agree, will you stop talking about it?”

“Yes,” Sally replied smugly.

“Fine,” Blaine said, immediately feeling guilty. “I… I’m kind of seeing someone, though.”

“You are?” Sally asked, interestedly. “Who is he and why am I just finding out about this? How did you meet, is he cute? Do I approve?”

“Whoa, slow down,” Blaine said as he picked his burger back up again. “He’s definitely cute, you might approve and I’m only telling you now because it only _just_ happened.” He took a bite of his lunch, trying to think of ways to dodge Sally’s questions but keep her interest satisfied at the same time. “And no, you can’t meet him, it’s too new.”

Sally pouted at him and Blaine just shook his head. 

“That’s all you’re getting,” Blaine added.

“Well…” Sally paused, smiling brightly at Blaine. “You _could_ bring him along bowling with us.”

“Fat chance,” Blaine replied, continuing to eat his lunch.

At that moment, a couple of students walked passed them and one of them almost fell over his own feet as he looked at Sally. Both Sally and Blaine ignored it – Sally was used to the attention by now and Blaine couldn’t get over how _obvious_ some of the boys at the school were in their staring. 

They finished their lunch and decided to take a walk around the campus grounds. Sally tried to get more information out of Blaine on who was the apparent mystery guy Blaine was seeing but he remained tight-lipped over it. 

He couldn’t risk anyone finding out about he and Kurt lest something happen to break them up. Blaine knew it was incredibly dangerous for them to be together at all but his feelings for Kurt were unlike any he had ever had before. 

The bell signalled to end their lunch period and Blaine walked back into the building with Sally before they went their separate ways. 

As Blaine reached his classroom, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a text message from “K”, the only way he could have Kurt as a contact in his phone, and he read it. 

_The cafeteria has atrocious food. Let me cook for you tonight? x_

Blaine smiled and quickly sent back a reply telling Kurt to meet him at his apartment later that evening. He slipped his phone back into the pocket of his slacks and tried to keep the grin off his face as he prepared for his next lesson.

~*~

When Blaine got home from work that evening, he loosened his tie and kicked off his shoes upon entering his apartment. He headed to his bedroom to change into something a little more comfortable when the doorbell rang.

He answered it to see Kurt standing there, a shy, somewhat hesitant smile on his lips and two paper bags in his arms. 

“Hi,” Blaine said, letting Kurt in. “What’s all this?”

“Food,” Kurt replied. “I wasn’t sure what you had so I took a little shopping trip to prepare for dinner.”

Blaine smiled and led Kurt to the kitchen so he could unload. “So, what are we having?”

“I thought I could cook us a vegetarian quiche,” Kurt said. “Is that okay?”

“It’s fine,” Blaine replied with a nod. “Should I leave you to it, or would you like a hand?”

“You can help me grate the cheese, if you don’t mind?”

“Sure,” Blaine said, pulling out the grater. 

They chatted about their week as they worked and every now and then, Kurt stopped to ask Blaine where something was in the kitchen before they would keep working. 

Mostly, Blaine watched as Kurt pottered around, working with perfect touches, indicating that he had clearly done this before. Blaine wondered what other things Kurt could cook and he found himself eager to get Kurt to tell him so they could spend more moments like this.

He knew it wasn’t the norm for a new relationship to be like theirs but they didn’t really have much of a choice. They couldn’t go out in public and be together in case a staff member, student or one of the students’ parents saw them but Blaine found that he didn’t mind. Especially when it meant that he and Kurt got to cook together. 

While the quiche was cooking, Blaine pulled Kurt close and wrapped his arms around his waist. 

Kurt’s gaze flicked to Blaine’s lips and Blaine smiled briefly before kissing him gently. Kurt immediately relaxed into Blaine’s arms, kissing him slowly. It had been a few days since they had been able to be close, much to Blaine’s chagrin, but it was good to finally be in each other’s arms again. 

Kurt’s lips were soft against his own and Blaine held Kurt a little tighter, trying to keep the moment as long as possible.

Eventually, the kiss broke and Kurt let out a small, happy sound that Blaine loved. He cupped Kurt’s cheek and pressed their lips together once more. 

“You know, I like that you’re taller than me,” Blaine said.

Kurt raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head.

“What?” Blaine asked innocently. “It’s nice to be able to reach up and kiss you.”

“I’m not _that_ much taller than you,” Kurt pointed out. It was true, it was barely even three inches of difference between them but it was still nice to be able to look up at Kurt like he was right then. 

Blaine pressed another kiss to Kurt’s lips, enjoying the way they felt against his own. He loved the little sighs that Kurt made when they were kissing and he found himself constantly trying to get Kurt to make them again. He gently stroked Kurt’s cheek before pulling back completely. 

“I should set the table,” Blaine said.

“You should,” Kurt replied with a nod. “Do you mind if I raid your DVD collection?”

“No, go ahead,” Blaine said. “Everything is in the cabinet, alphabetised. Pick whatever you want and we can watch it.”

Dinner was soon ready and Kurt served it to them and they sat down together at Blaine’s small kitchen table. Blaine smiled at Kurt and rubbed his foot against Kurt’s under the table, watching as he flushed slightly. It was amazing how Kurt responded to things, Blaine mused. He blushed like a school girl at times but others, he was just so forward with what he wanted. It was always surprising for Blaine to see.

“You’re a really good cook,” Blaine commented as they ate. “Who taught you?”

“I used to bake with my mom before she died,” Kurt said. “I just like to cook. It’s soothing.”

Blaine smiled, reaching across the table to take Kurt’s hand. “You’re amazing.”

Kurt flushed heavily. “Thanks,” he said, looking down at his food.

After dinner, Blaine told Kurt to leave the dishes and that he would see to them later. They curled up on the couch together, Kurt tucked snugly into Blaine’s side, their feet resting together on an ottoman as they watched _Singing in the Rain_. 

An hour into the movie, Blaine shifted a little, bringing Kurt a little closer to him. Kurt looked up and adjusted himself against Blaine’s chest. He shifted once more and Blaine brought his hand up to cup Kurt’s face, gently guiding him closer so he could kiss him. Kurt let out a soft noise of appreciation and Blaine felt it go straight to his stomach. He moaned softly, tilting his head a little so he could kiss Kurt a little better. 

Kurt gently sucked on Blaine’s lower lip and Blaine pulled Kurt flush against his body, one hand going to Kurt’s back to support him as he moved them to lie down on the couch together. Kurt’s hand fisted in his hair, keeping him close and Blaine squeezed Kurt’s hip in response. 

Never had kissing another person before been so amazing for Blaine. Kurt was so responsive and he knew how to kiss _so_ well. The little nips to Blaine’s bottom lip drove him wild and the noises just about tipped Blaine over the edge. He didn’t even mind that they were missing out on his favourite part of the movie. 

“Shit,” Kurt said a while later, breaking their heated kissing session.

“What?” Blaine asked, removing his hand from up the back of Kurt’s top. 

“I have to go.”

“Already?” Blaine looked over at the clock, seeing that it was getting late. “Crap, I didn’t realise that was the time.”

“Me either,” Kurt said, shifting from underneath Blaine. 

Blaine sighed, a slight frown on his lips as he stood and helped Kurt off the couch as well. He straightened himself and ran a hand through his curls while Kurt pulled his shoes on. 

“I’ll try and come see you this weekend,” Kurt said. “Either Friday night or Sunday afternoon, is that okay?”

“Of course it is,” Blaine replied, giving Kurt a reassuring smile. “I don’t think I’m going anywhere this weekend. No doubt I’ll have mountains of papers to grade.”

Kurt slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped into Blaine’s personal space once more. “Work hard so we can spend some time together.”

“Oh, I will,” Blaine replied, lips ghosting over Kurt’s own. 

Kurt smiled and pressed their lips together once more. Blaine resisted the urge to just push Kurt back on the couch when their tongues moved together. Instead, he took Kurt’s hand and squeezed softly. 

“You’d better go if you don’t want to miss curfew,” Blaine said a few moments later.

Kurt pulled back and let out a sigh. “I know.”

Blaine walked Kurt to the door and kissed him once more. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You will,” Kurt replied with a smile. “Sweet dreams, Blaine.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Hey, Dad,” Kurt greeted his dad on the phone a fair few weeks later. “Just wanted to let you know that I’ll be home tomorrow around lunch… No, no, everything’s fine, we’ve just got a long Warblers practice tomorrow after school and I don’t want to drive home that late.” 

Kurt bit his lip, fidgeting with his pen as he spoke to his dad. Their conversation ended a few moments later and Kurt set down his cell phone with a sigh. He felt bad that he was lying to his dad but it had been over a week since he and Blaine had been able to have some quality alone time. Between Kurt’s school work and Blaine’s actual work, they were struggling to find time for each other. Kurt knew that he and Blaine needed this – needed each other for just one evening, and he wanted to have it. 

“Hey, why the glum face?” Jeff asked as he entered their room.

Kurt looked up. “Not glum,” Kurt replied. “Just tired.”

Jeff all but collapsed onto Kurt’s bed next to him, belly down and he propped himself up on his elbows to look at Kurt. “You okay? You’ve been a bit… spacey lately.”

Kurt gave Jeff a small smile. “I’m fine,” he said. “Just a little overworked and underpaid.”

Jeff grinned and threw him a wink. “Aren’t we all?”

Kurt shook his head, smiling and laid back against his pillows, keeping his gaze on one half of his best friends. “So, where’s your better half?” he teased. 

Jeff poked out his tongue. “Nick is off getting a haircut,” he said. “He said something about family pictures tomorrow, I don’t know, I wasn’t really listening.”

“You’re such a nice boyfriend, Jeff,” Kurt deadpanned. 

“I know,” Jeff said, beaming up at him. “Hey, what are you doing tonight? Nicky and I are probably going to stay up and watch movies with some of the other boys, if you want to join us?”

“Can’t,” Kurt said. “I’m leaving for home soon.” He gestured to his overnight bag which was sitting on his desk. He felt a stab of guilt at openly lying to Jeff but it was best that he did so no one found out that he wasn’t going home and that he was probably going to spend the night at Blaine’s – something that both terrified and excited him at the same time. 

“Oh,” Jeff said with a pout. “Well, how soon do you have to leave? I feel like we haven’t seen each other in forever.”

“Jeff, we share a room, I see you _plenty_ ,” Kurt pointed out dryly. “I hear your snores and I see your naked butt every morning when you wake up. I see you _enough_.”

Jeff grinned but nudged Kurt’s leg with his finger. “You know what I mean. You go off campus a lot to study these days and you’re always home late. I miss you.”

“Aww, I miss you too, Jeffy,” Kurt said, using the nickname that he knew Jeff hated. 

“Oh, you are cruel, missy,” Jeff said with a huff, poking Kurt again in the thigh. “At least stay until Nick comes back so we can laugh at him if he has a bad haircut?”

“Deal,” Kurt said with a grin. 

It was nice to just catch up with Jeff. He could be himself around Jeff and it was nice not to have to watch what he was saying because there was never any reason for them to broach the subject of Kurt’s love life because as far as Jeff knew, Kurt had none. 

Jeff was rambling about something, curled into Kurt’s side, his head resting on Kurt’s chest when Nick came back. His hair was considerably shorter but looked great.

“So, I’m gone for half an hour and you’re in bed with another man? Sob,” Nick said, joining them on the bed.

“Sorry, Nick, you’re just not as much of a man as I am,” Kurt returned. 

Jeff grinned from where he lay and reached out a hand to Nick. “C’mon, Kurt sandwich,” he said.

“What? No! I did _not_ approve that!” Kurt exclaimed, flustered as Nick slipped behind him, squishing him in a massive cuddle.

“See, this is how it should be,” Jeff said, snuggling further into Kurt.

“We’re going to break my bed,” Kurt said, struggling between the two bodies that were smushed on either side of him.

They lay like that for a while and Kurt had the sinking feeling that one or both of them had fallen asleep and he was trapped between them. 

“You had better not be asleep, Jeffrey,” Kurt said after a little while longer.

“’M’not,” Jeff mumbled from somewhere near Kurt’s ear. “Just want to cuddle.”

“Your boyfriend is _right_ behind me, cuddle him.”

“No,” Jeff replied. “I miss you.”

“Me too,” Nick agreed. “You’re never around anymore, Kurt.”

“It’s senior year,” Kurt pointed out. “I’m busy studying all of the time. You know, because I’m not blessed with the ability to just retain large volumes of information after the first time hearing it, Jeff.”

He poked Jeff in the side and Jeff squirmed away. Kurt took his chance and wriggled out of their grasp while he could. Feeling triumphant, Kurt turned back to see that Jeff and Nick had got over him not being there rather quickly and were placing little kisses on each other’s lips.

“Off my bed when you do that, please,” Kurt said, giving them a disproving look. “Your bed is right there, Jeff.”

“But yours is _warm_ ,” Jeff pouted. “Fine, don’t give me that bitch face, we’re moving.”

Jeff got up off the bed and tugged Nick up too. 

“Have a good night,” Kurt said, slipping his phone back into his pocket after checking the time. “I’ll see you on Sunday. Probably late.”

Nick and Jeff nodded. “Drive safely.”

“I will,” Kurt assured them with a smile. 

Jeff pulled Kurt in for another hug. “Love you, Kurtsie.”

Kurt gave Jeff a watered down version of his bitch face at the nickname but returned the sentiment before leaving the room. He headed to the car park and put his laptop bag and his overnight bag on the passenger seat. He checked his reflection in the rear-view mirror before pulling out of the parking lot and heading to Blaine’s street. 

A few minutes later, he knocked on Blaine’s door and smiled when the older male answered. He stepped inside Blaine’s apartment and was met with a soft kiss.

“Hi,” Blaine breathed, kissing him once more.

Kurt set his bags down and joined Blaine in the kitchen. 

“I’m making risotto,” Blaine said. “I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure I will,” Kurt replied, watching as Blaine moved around the kitchen. 

He admired the way Blaine worked. He did everything with such precision that Kurt thought he might be able to learn from it. Kurt was a perfectionist when it came to his cooking and everything else in his life but there was an ease about Blaine when he moved around the kitchen, testing different things with a spoon. 

“Do you want to watch anything in particular tonight?” Blaine asked as he served up their dinner.

“I’m in the mood for a musical, actually,” Kurt replied. “Do you have _Chicago_?”

“Of course I do,” Blaine replied. “Honestly, Kurt.” He winked at Kurt and set their plates on the small table. 

Kurt sat down and Blaine joined him a moment later, placing two wine glasses full of sparkling water on the table too. Kurt quirked an eyebrow in response to that and Blaine just smiled.

“I’m not about to serve you alcohol,” Blaine replied. “Well, that and I drank the last of my wine on Wednesday night.”

Kurt smiled and took a sip from the glass. “It’s classy,” he said. “Plus, it’s sparkling water, so it’s almost as good.”

Blaine grinned broadly at him and they started chatting about their week and Kurt thought, for the briefest moment, that they were kind of like an old married couple. They were so comfortable with each other, sitting down to dinner, talking about their day. 

Kurt felt his stomach flutter a little at the thought. He liked being with Blaine like this. He was mature. A lot more mature than any other guy Kurt had ever known. Almost all of the boys at Dalton were impeccably mannered, as it was bred into them from birth, for most of them, but they lacked the maturity that Blaine had. Kurt was very attracted to that factor. 

Blaine showered while Kurt did the dishes, and even though Blaine had protested that Kurt didn’t have to, as soon as Blaine was in the bathroom, Kurt set about cleaning Blaine’s kitchen up.

He had just made them both a mug of green tea when Blaine exited, wearing loose sweat pants, the legs just a smidge too long and an old Dalton tee. Kurt smiled at the sight. 

“You look like you should be a freshman in that,” Kurt commented, passing Blaine his mug. 

“Thanks,” Blaine said, taking the tea. “And I do not look like a freshman.”

“You kind of do,” Kurt teased, grinning over the top of his mug. 

Blaine took Kurt’s mug from his hands and set it on the counter behind him next to his own. “Well,” he started. “That would make this perfectly okay then.”

Their lips met in a soft kiss and Kurt all but melted into Blaine’s arms. Blaine was warm and slightly damp from his shower. Kurt cupped the back of Blaine’s neck as they kissed, the wet curls of his hair brushing against his fingers. 

Kurt let out a soft moan as Blaine shifted a little, pressing him into the counter. “Blaine,” he whispered, breaking the kiss. 

Blaine pulled back, licking his lips and he nodded. “I know. You can shower, if you want to?”

Kurt nodded, pressing his lips to Blaine’s once more. “I’ll be out soon.”

When Kurt emerged from the bathroom, Blaine was sitting in the living room, a lightweight blanket over his legs. Kurt smiled and sat down next to him. Blaine lifted the blanket and Kurt shifted underneath it.

“You smell nice,” Blaine said, kissing just underneath Kurt’s ear. “Is that mango?”

Kurt flushed a little. “It’s new,” he replied. “And yes, it’s mango.”

“It’s nice,” Blaine repeated. “And we have ice cream too.” 

Kurt took the offered spoon and Blaine pressed play on the DVD remote and _Chicago_ came on. Blaine leant against him a little as they shared the ice cream, attention on the television screen. 

Kurt grinned as Blaine started singing along to the songs and he couldn’t help but join in. It wasn’t the first time that he had ever heard Blaine sing but it still made his heart flutter every time he heard the melody fall from Blaine’s lips. 

Blaine danced a little in his seat, moving his arms and Kurt laughed. Blaine winked at him and Kurt burst into a fit of giggles, unable to stop himself. 

Moments later, Kurt found himself being pressed into the couch, Blaine hovering over him as they kissed hotly. He forgot all about laughing at Blaine’s wink and the DVD they were watching in favour of Blaine’s lips against his own and Blaine’s tongue in his mouth. Blaine tasted like the cookies and cream ice cream they had shared and Kurt found it even more enticing than he had ever before. 

Blaine shifted a little and Kurt felt his hand slipping up the side of his shirt, resting on his hip. Kurt copied his action, slipping his own hands up Blaine’s shirt, fingers gently caressing the soft skin of Blaine’s back. 

Blaine arched into his touch and Kurt felt oddly thrilled by it. He boldly stroked higher, wondering what other reactions he could get out of Blaine. The sound of their moans filled the room and Blaine sat up a little, breaking the kiss.

“Did you want to…?” 

Kurt licked his lips and found himself nodding.

Blaine got up off the couch and held his hand out. Nervous, Kurt took Blaine’s hand and followed him to the bedroom. 

This was a first for the both of them. Kurt had seen Blaine’s room a few times since they had started seeing each other but he had never been in there at the same time as Blaine before, at least, not like this. 

Blaine stopped and turned to face him. His kisses were gentle and Kurt let out a breathy little sigh when they stopped after a moment. Kurt glanced over at the bed and joined Blaine on it. 

Nerves filled Kurt’s stomach and he looked over at Blaine who was tucking his phone into the bedside drawer. 

Moments later, they were kissing again, lying on their sides. Blaine’s hand was on his hip again, stroking random patterns on the skin. Kurt shivered at the touch and tangled his hand in Blaine’s hair once more. He’d told Blaine how much he loved his curls before and Blaine had just grinned and admitted that he loved the feel of Kurt’s fingers in his hair when they kissed. 

Blaine pulled back after a while and looked at Kurt. He pulled his shirt off in one swift movement and kissed Kurt again. Kurt moaned into the kiss, his hands roaming freely over Blaine’s newly exposed skin. He stroked up Blaine’s back, down his arms, unable to get enough of the smooth skin in front of him. He panted heavily as he broke the kiss once more and sat up, slipping his own old “Hummel Tires and Lube” shirt over his head. 

“You,” Blaine whispered, kissing his collarbone. “Are,” a little nip, “gorgeous.”

Kurt let out a shaky breath and kissed Blaine softly. Blaine’s fingers gently stroked down Kurt’s side, pausing ever so often just to rest. 

“Blaine,” Kurt said with a sigh, lips brushing against Blaine’s own with every breath. 

Blaine pulled back and started to kiss down Kurt’s jaw and to his neck. Kurt sucked in a sharp breath as Blaine kissed a sensitive spot on his neck. His jaw fell slack and his fingers gripped a little harder on Blaine’s hips. 

Kurt moaned when Blaine kissed him hotly, tongue moving against his own in the best way possible. Kurt gripped Blaine’s bicep, possibly leaving little indentations on his skin but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Blaine’s lips were addictive and the way Blaine’s naked chest felt against his own was amazing.

Kurt flicked his tongue against Blaine’s in a particular way and Blaine’s hips thrust down into Kurt’s own. 

Kurt’s eyes flew open and he abruptly pulled back from the kiss. 

“Are you okay?” Blaine asked immediately as they separated. 

“I…” Kurt took a breath. “Sorry.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry,” Blaine whispered. “Did I do something wrong?”

Kurt flushed heavily. “No, you were great,” he said. “It’s just… I wasn’t expecting that is all.”

“What?”

“ _That_.”

“Oh.”

Kurt’s face burned with embarrassment. Not only had he effectively ruined the mood, he had also just sketchily admitted to Blaine that their physical activity moving further scared him.

“It’s okay, you know,” Blaine said reassuringly. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Kurt’s expression softened. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “This is all really new to me.”

“C’mere,” Blaine said, lying back on the bed, opening his arms to Kurt.

Kurt scooted into Blaine’s embrace and Blaine’s hand immediately went into his hair, smoothing it away from his forehead. Blaine pressed a kiss to the tip of Kurt’s nose before pulling back.

“All you have to do is say stop,” Blaine started. “At _any_ point and we’ll stop.”

Kurt nodded, keeping his gaze on Blaine. “I’ve never had sex before,” he admitted softly. “You… you’re the first person I’ve ever kissed. I think I just got caught up in the moment.”

“I’m sorry that I got carried away,” Blaine said. “But we’ll stop. We can just cuddle and probably fall asleep soon.”

Kurt gave Blaine a thankful smile. “Thank you for being so good about this.”

“Always,” Blaine replied, twining their fingers together. “I know what it’s like. I was a virgin too not so long ago.”

“Really?” Kurt asked, intrigued. 

Blaine nodded. “College,” he started. “Only had sex twice before he dumped me and haven’t had it again since. So really, this is new for me too.”

“That’s… kind of nice to know,” Kurt said, shifting a little so he could face Blaine a little better. “I’m sorry he dumped you. …Well, not really since it means I have you now.”

Blaine grinned. “I learnt my lesson with him,” he replied. “I’m glad I have you too.”

They kissed softly and Blaine shuffled, pulling the blankets up around them. 

“Night, Kurt.”

“Night, Blaine.”

~*~

When he got home the next day, Kurt thought a lot about what had happened between himself and Blaine the previous night.

Even though he had embarrassed himself, he somehow felt even closer to Blaine. He wasn’t glad how it happened but they had talked a bit more over breakfast and Blaine said they needed to set some boundaries, which Kurt wholly agreed to. 

Eventually, Kurt had to leave but his mind was still replaying last night over and over. He was so distracted that he didn’t even hear his dad knocking on the door.

“Kurt?” Burt asked, stepping into his room. “You okay, son?”

Kurt blinked and looked up. “Yeah,” he said with a nod. “Sorry, just concentrating.”

“You looked like you were daydreaming, kid,” Burt said, perching on the edge of Kurt’s bed. 

“I guess I was,” Kurt replied. 

“How’s school?”

Kurt shuffled to sit up properly on his bed, letting his stomach muscles rest from lying on them for the better part of two hours. “It’s good. Hard, busy and there’s a lot of homework but it’s alright.”

“Good,” Burt said with a nod. “Wanna help me down at the shop later? There’s some book work I need your help on.”

Kurt smiled. “Sure, Dad,” he said with a nod. 

Kurt fiddled with his pen for a moment and just as his dad was about to get up to leave, Kurt stopped him. Burt looked down at him with a curious gaze but sat back on the bed.

“How… how do you know when you’re ready for sex?” Kurt asked, voice a little timid as he kept his gaze on is dad’s shoulder. 

Burt cleared his throat and shifted a little. “Do you want to have sex with someone, Kurt?”

“I, no… I’m just curious,” Kurt said, flustered. “I mean, the boys at school… They talk, you know? I just want to know when you know you’re ready.”

Kurt was certain that his cheeks were burning. He didn’t particularly _want_ to be talking about this with his dad but he couldn’t really talk to anyone else. He couldn’t talk to the most experienced people he knew – Jeff and Nick – because they would ask him questions about who he was seeing and Kurt hated lying to them.

At least with his dad, he could try and pass it off as curiosity and hope that it was enough. He was eighteen; he was bound to think about sex at some point. Sure, he hadn’t really thought about it _at all_ previous to Blaine, save for the awkward occasion when he’d walked in on Nick and Jeff having sex. He wanted to be prepared. He didn’t want to go into it completely naïve and have something completely awkward happen, like fumbling with a condom, or something worse.

“It will feel right,” Burt started, clearing his throat again. “Even though it can be scary thinking about the act itself, if he treats you right and he respects you, it won’t be that bad. I just want you to know something, Kurt.” 

Kurt looked up at his dad and nodded for him to keep talking.

“I don’t want you to feel pressured, okay? Because teenage boys pretty much only think of one thing. I don’t want you to just give it away because it’s what _he_ wants. It has to be what _you_ want, okay? You matter and your feelings matter,” Burt said. “If he can’t respect your wishes, then he doesn’t deserve to be with you.

“That and I have my old flame thrower still, I’m not afraid to use it.”

Kurt smiled a little and nodded. “Thanks, Dad,” he said. 

“Just, be careful, Kurt,” Burt added. “You only get to do this once and hell if I understand the technicalities of two guys, you know, but I don’t want you to get hurt. You _matter_.”

Kurt nodded and wrapped his arms around his dad in a tight hug. “Thank you,” he said. 

Burt patted his shoulder and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Anytime,” he replied. “So. Do I get to meet this guy you’re thinking about having sex with?”

“Dad!” Kurt exclaimed, pulling away, his cheeks heating up. “I’m not–”

“I know, kid, I know,” Burt replied. “But if you do have sex with him, then I at least want to meet him. Preferably beforehand, though.”

“There _is_ no one,” Kurt repeated. 

Burt shook his head and got up off the bed again. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay,” Kurt said, shifting to lean back against his pillows. 

He slipped the ear buds of his iPod into his ears and picked up his phone. He scrolled through the last messages he and Blaine had sent each other and he flushed, mind going back to the previous night again.

He replayed the moment that Blaine’s hips, that his erection, met Kurt’s own and the feelings he got from it. He had told Blaine how embarrassed he was for reacting the way he did when they had awoken but Blaine had just told him it was fine. Kurt was glad, not for the first time, that he had such a mature older boyfriend. He knew a lot of boys his age would have got annoyed.

Waking up with Blaine had been an amazing experience as well. He had awoken first and had just lain there, on his side, watching the steady rise and fall of Blaine’s chest as he breathed. Blaine looked so peaceful, so serene. Kurt had watched Blaine’s eyelids slowly blink open and the smile that crossed his face when he had seen Kurt had left him slightly breathless. 

He had snuggled back into Blaine’s side, just lying there with him, slowly waking up. It was one of the best feelings in the world, and something Kurt knew he wanted to keep doing as much as possible. 

With a sigh, Kurt set aside his phone and pulled his French book towards him to keep on studying. 

After dinner, Finn knocked on Kurt’s door and poked his head in, wearing that stupidly adorable grin that Kurt was sure he had trademarked.

“Hey, bro,” Finn said, stepping into the room. “How’s prep school?”

Kurt rolled his eyes at Finn but moved his books so his step brother could sit on his bed. “It’s fine, Finn,” he replied. “How’s McKinley?”

“Pretty much the same as usual,” Finn replied with a shrug. “Hey, want to go to the movies?”

Kurt looked up from his paper and nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Anything to get away from this work.”

“Cool,” Finn grinned widely. “Rachel and Mercedes are going to meet us there in half an hour, so hurry up.”

“And you’re just telling me now? That isn’t enough time to pick out an outfit!” Kurt exclaimed, hopping off his bed and moving to his closet. 

“Go in what you’re wearing now?” Finn suggested.

Kurt resisted the urge to glare at his brother – something he had been perfecting at Dalton. “I’ve been wearing this all day,” he said, gesturing to the clothes he was wearing. “Besides, I can’t go _out_ looking like it’s laundry day.”

“Whatever, dude, you look fine to me,” Finn said, picking up Kurt’s iPod and putting one of the ear buds into his ear. 

“You won’t like what’s on there,” Kurt commented. “It’s notes for my French test next week.”

Finn made a face and pulled the bud out of his ear. “You work too much.”

Kurt shrugged as he laid out his outfit to change into. “Dalton has a very strict curriculum to be followed. It’s not like McKinley.” He eyed the shirt he had chosen and shook his head at it, picking it up to return it to his closet. He selected another shirt and a scarf and set them down next to his pants. “Are you going to leave so I can get dressed?”

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.” Kurt glared at him. “Fine, fine, I’m going.”

“And shut the door, please,” Kurt said as Finn left the room. 

He changed and sat down in front of his vanity to perfect his hair. He mentally berated Finn for leaving it so late to ask him if he wanted to go to the movies – it was a typical Finn move, but it still irked Kurt. 

Fifteen minutes later, Finn was knocking on his door. “We’re going to be late if you don’t hurry.”

“I wouldn’t have to rush if you’d asked me earlier, Finn!” Kurt called back. 

He tied the last of the laces on his black Doc Martin boots and slipped his phone into his pocket before heading to his bedroom door.

“I’m ready,” he said to Finn who just grinned.

“Cool, let’s go.”

They drove to the cinema in Kurt’s Navigator after a three minute debate on why Kurt wouldn’t be seen dead in Finn’s truck. Finn had huffed but Kurt placated him by saying he could choose the music for the entire trip – there and back. 

The first thing Kurt saw as he stepped out of his car was a flurry of pink before Rachel had practically thrown herself in his arms. 

“I’ve missed you _so_ much!” she said in a rush. 

Kurt smiled and hugged her back. “I’ve missed you too.”

“How’s school? How’s the work load? Are you getting solos? Wait, don’t answer that, I don’t want to know when we beat you at Regionals.”

Kurt rolled his eyes affectionately and brushed off Rachel’s questions, settling, instead, to hug Mercedes.

“How are you, boo?” Mercedes asked once they parted. 

Kurt smiled at her. “I’m good,” he replied. “Might I say you look fabulous tonight!”

Mercedes grinned widely. “Thank you.” 

“Mercedes and I already bought tickets, we can just go in,” Rachel said, slipping her arm around Kurt’s holding him close.

The group headed into the cinema and Kurt noticed that Finn chose to sit on Mercedes’ other side, rather than next to Rachel, who was Finn’s ex girlfriend. Kurt smiled to himself, making a mental note to keep an eye on his step brother and his best girlfriend. 

Rachel nattered all through the previews and only shut up when someone hissed ‘shh!’ rather loudly at them. Kurt stifled a giggle but ducked his head closer to Rachel’s so they could keep talking. 

The movie started a few minutes later, forcing Kurt and Rachel to fall silent. He took a sip of his bottled water and glanced over at Finn and Mercedes who were holding hands. Kurt, unable to stop himself from smiling turned to Rachel.

“When did that happen?” he whispered, flicking his gaze back to the pair. 

“A few weeks ago,” Rachel replied. “It was very romantic.”

She launched into the tale of how Finn and Mercedes had been paired together for a duet for Glee club and Finn, being completely and adorably clueless, sang Mercedes a love song. At the end of it, Mercedes had said her signature ‘damn boy, it’s about time!’ and they had kissed in front of the entire choir room full of people.

Kurt let out a soft ‘aww’ and glanced over at them again. “Wait, why didn’t Finn tell me? Or Mercedes for that matter?” he asked, trying to whisper but still be heard over the loudness of the movie playing.

“They’re planning on telling you tonight,” Rachel said. “This is kind of a lead up to that. Finn’s a little nervous because you and Mercedes have been friends since you were in grade school.”

“As long as they’re happy, then I’m happy,” Kurt said, sneaking another glance. “I can’t get over how cute they are together.”

Rachel grinned. “They’re quite adorable. Maybe not as adorable as Finn and I were but Jesse and I are much better suited. He challenges me vocally every single day.”

“I know he does, Rachel,” Kurt said, cutting her off. He may love her a lot but he didn’t need to hear _again_ how perfect Jesse St James was for her. 

They watched the rest of the movie in relative silence. It wasn’t until they were getting up to leave the cinema that it hit Kurt just how much he missed his friends. He had friends at Dalton – he had Nick and Jeff who were _always_ there for him but he missed the craziness of his friends at McKinley. He missed fighting with Rachel for a solo and he missed his and Mercedes ‘girly’ days out, spent shopping and doing anything they wanted. He even missed helping Finn with his History homework. With a pang, Kurt crooked his elbow for Rachel to take his arm and he held it securely in his own. He missed them so much and it left him feeling a little hollow each time he had to say good bye.

When they got outside, Rachel did a twirl, her skirt flowing out as she span and Kurt laughed happily, watching her. 

“C’mon, Kurt, dance with me!” Rachel said, holding out her hands.

“There’s no music!” 

Kurt would have normally regretted that but Rachel started singing “Sway” and Kurt couldn’t help but dance with her. Finn and Mercedes joined in, the four of them dancing around the parking lot to their cars, all happily singing. 

Rachel span again, straight into Kurt’s embrace and he hugged her tight. “I miss you guys so much.”

“You need to come home more often, boo,” Mercedes said, rocking slightly in Finn’s arms. 

Kurt smiled. “It’ll be Christmas soon; I’ll be home the entire break.”

His mind went straight to Blaine. He had no idea what Blaine was doing for Christmas and he felt bad when he realised that he wouldn’t be able to see his boyfriend on Christmas day. 

He could probably try and get away for a few hours over various different days during the small break but he didn’t know if Blaine would be going out of the state to visit family or what else he might be doing.

“We’ll never get sick of you, Kurt,” Rachel said happily. 

Kurt smiled. “Of course not,” he replied with a wink. “I’m fabulous.”

They all piled into Kurt’s car – Rachel and Mercedes having been dropped off earlier by Rachel’s dads – and Kurt headed to Mercedes’ house first. 

“I’ll see you next weekend, Kurt,” Mercedes said. “Don’t let that prep school give you too much work.”

“I’ll try,” Kurt replied.

Finn got out of the car with her and walked her to the door. The moment their lips touched, Kurt looked away. 

“You’ll find someone, someday, Kurt,” Rachel said softly. 

Kurt glanced into the rear-view mirror, locking gazes with Rachel. “I know.”

“You’re an amazing guy, anyone would be lucky to have you.”

Kurt gave Rachel a small smile. “Thank you.”

Finn got back into the car a few minutes later, looking quite cheerful, his cheeks a little flush and Kurt knew it wasn’t from the cold air. 

“So, you and Mercedes, huh?” Kurt teased Finn after they had dropped Rachel off at her house.

“Yeah,” Finn replied, grinning from ear to ear. “We wanted to tell you sooner…”

“It’s okay,” Kurt said honestly. “Love looks good on you.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Someone’s been a good teacher and has a nice, shiny apple waiting for him on his desk. K xxx**

Blaine grinned as he red the text message and headed into his classroom. He immediately saw the polished green apple sitting atop Kurt’s latest extra credit paper and a post-it note stuck on top. 

_Your favourite student will be staying behind after class today, just to give you a heads up._

He re-read the note a few times before sticking it into the back of his day planner. Blaine opened his briefcase to put his day planner away and got out his notes for the first class of the day.

He was a little distracted for the entire day after Kurt’s text message, the apple and the post-it note and when the bell sounded to indicate that the sixth period was about to start, Blaine found his anticipation increasing. 

It had been a busy week for both of them. Thanksgiving had been the week before and they had barely seen each other. Blaine knew it was inevitable though, Kurt was busy studying for midterms and he was busy preparing for them. They had mostly resorted to texting and Blaine had seen Kurt once after class a few days before Thanksgiving, which had resulted in a very heated make out session on Blaine’s couch before Kurt said he had to go. 

Christmas was fast approaching and Blaine had yet to ask Kurt what he wanted. He desperately wanted to be able to _see_ Kurt on Christmas but he knew it was almost impossible to do so without arousing suspicion from Kurt’s family. As far as he knew, Kurt hadn’t mentioned him, as a teacher or as anything else to his family but Blaine knew that it would be weird for an older man to just appear, asking for Kurt. There would be questions asked and they needed to keep a low profile. 

Kurt walked in with Nick and Jeff a few minutes later and the trio took their usual seats. Blaine forced himself to look away and to concentrate on the lesson. 

His gaze strayed every now and then to Kurt but he made sure to linger on other students as well so no one got suspicious. At the end of the class, Blaine heard Kurt address his friends, saying that he wanted to pick up his extra credit paper.

“Ah, Mr Hummel,” Blaine said professionally. “I have your paper on poetry prose.”

“Did you like it?” Kurt replied, playing the part so well. “There were some parts I didn’t feel like I was strong enough on but I think I really came through in the end.”

Blaine nodded, perching on the edge of his desk as Kurt stood in front of him. “I’ve made some notes for next time but overall, it was a pleasure to read – as always.”

Kurt smiled at him and Blaine knew he was lost. “Thank you,” he whispered softly. 

Blaine returned the smile and casually looked passed Kurt’s shoulder to make sure the classroom door was shut. “How are you?” he asked. 

“I miss you,” Kurt replied, reaching over to take Blaine’s hand. “I’ve been thinking…”

“Yes?” 

“Keep Friday free,” Kurt said.

“Friday?” Blaine repeated, curiosity setting in. 

Kurt nodded. “Friday,” he echoed with a smile. “I’m ready.”

Blaine’s whole world stopped at those two words. He wasn’t going to immediately assume what he _thought_ Kurt meant but it was pretty hard not to. “You’re ready?”

Kurt nodded again. “Yeah,” he said. “Yes. I want Friday to be special for us.”

Blaine swallowed thickly. He had no idea how he was going to concentrate for the rest of the week now he knew that he and Kurt would finally have sex for the first time. 

It hit Blaine that he was going to be taking Kurt’s virginity. That was… big.

“Are you sure?” Blaine asked softly.

“Yes, I am,” Kurt replied assuredly. “I’ve thought about it a lot these last couple of weeks. I am definitely ready.”

Blaine smiled, unable to stop himself. “Me too.”

Kurt stepped forwards and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. Blaine would have liked to kiss Kurt a little more for a little longer but this was risky enough as it was. 

They parted and Kurt gave him a loving look before leaving the classroom.

Blaine exhaled loudly once the door was firmly shut. He licked his lips and sat for a few moments, just thinking. This was going to bring him and Kurt closer than they already were. 

Blaine found himself feeling a little nervous but he hoped it would pass before Friday.

~*~

Unsurprisingly, the week seemed to drag on for Blaine. It was Wednesday when Kurt had stayed back to say to him that yes, he definitely wanted to have sex with Blaine, and it felt like it took an eternity to get to Friday.

Blaine was a lot more nervous about the whole ordeal than he cared to admit. His first time hadn’t been exactly desirable or romantic. It had been rushed, and afterwards, Blaine hadn’t felt love for Michael. He had felt a little used and his feelings had been proved correct when Michael had broken up with him a few days later. 

Blaine didn’t want that for Kurt. He wanted it to be romantic, to be perfect and for it to go exactly how his own first didn’t. 

Not only was it a first for Kurt but this was Blaine’s do-over. He could pretend that he never had sex with Michael and that Kurt was the one he was losing his virginity to. That thought alone got Blaine through the rest of the week.

Friday night found Blaine in his kitchen, cooking a vegetarian lasagne for dinner. He would have cooked a normal meat one but Kurt didn’t like to eat red meat, preferring only white or fish when he had to, as they were healthier options. Blaine didn’t mind, he ate just about anything set in front of him.

Blaine’s phone rang and his heart thudded, thinking that Kurt was calling to cancel on him. Instead, it was Wes’ name that flashed on the screen.

“Wes, hey,” Blaine greeted his friend.

They spoke for a few minutes while Blaine pottered around the kitchen, setting the table for dinner. Wes asked if he wanted to go out for a beer and Blaine had to decline, giving the excuse that he was snowed under with papers to mark and that he would catch up with Wes as soon as he could. 

Wes understood, thankfully, that before Christmas was always a busy time at school. Blaine knew that they would catch up before then but tonight, he wanted no distractions from Kurt.

The door bell rang a short while later, and Blaine smiled. He pressed the play button on his iPod dock as he walked passed it to the door and the room filled with soft, instrumental music, which would hopefully set the mood.

“Hi,” Blaine said as he opened the door, drinking in Kurt’s presence. 

Kurt smiled back, stepping inside and Blaine locked the door before taking Kurt’s coat to hang up.

“Something smells nice,” Kurt said. 

“I’m cooking lasagne,” Blaine replied from the bedroom where he set down Kurt’s overnight bag. He headed back out into the kitchen where Kurt was resting against the counter. 

Blaine crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Kurt’s middle, holding him loosely. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Kurt whispered back.

Their lips met in a soft kiss, just lips brushing against lips. Blaine had missed this more than he cared to admit. He adored Kurt’s company but there was something about the way that Kurt kissed that made Blaine melt and feel whole at the same time. 

Dinner passed in a montage of loving looks, whispered words of affection and the casual brushing of their legs against each other’s own. Blaine told Kurt to leave the dishes alone and that he would do them in the morning. 

Blaine didn’t bother offering to watch a movie first, his nerves were getting the best of him but Kurt saved him the trouble when he kissed Blaine lovingly. They kissed for a few long moments before Blaine led Kurt to the bedroom. 

“Uh,” he started. “I’m not sure if you want to, but maybe do you want to shower first?”

Kurt looked hesitant for a moment but nodded. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

Blaine realised a split second later that he’d just suggested they shower together but Kurt didn’t seem to mind as much as he thought he would as they stepped into the bathroom together. 

They kissed again, everything felt slow and unhurried, which Blaine was thankful for. He slowly unbuttoned Kurt’s shirt, pressing kisses to each inch of exposed skin as he went. He slipped the fabric from Kurt’s shoulders and hung it on the bathroom door knob so it wouldn’t wrinkle. 

Blaine’s fingers trailed up Kurt’s back, causing him to shiver slightly. Blaine’s shirt joined Kurt’s on the door knob a few moments later and he paused to just admire Kurt. He stroked up Kurt’s arms, taking in the soft, pale skin under his own tanned hands. 

Kurt’s breath hitched and Blaine captured his lips in another kiss. Kurt’s fingers found their way into Blaine’s hair, curling around the strands and Blaine bit back the moan he wanted to let out at the touch. He didn’t want to rush this, he wanted to make it last. 

Blaine held Kurt’s hips loosely, thumbs hooking under belt loops of Kurt’s pants and he gently tugged Kurt forwards. Kurt let out a moan into his mouth and Blaine couldn’t help but moan as well. 

He shifted slightly, moving to undo Kurt’s fly. Kurt’s hands immediately went to his own and they parted so they could both step out of their pants. 

Kurt looked shyly at Blaine and Blaine reached up, cupping Kurt’s cheek. 

“I love you,” Blaine said clearly, hoping Kurt tell just how in love he really was.

Kurt looked startled for a moment before breaking into a smile. “I love you too.”

Blaine closed the gap between them, kissing Kurt again. They stayed like that for a few long minutes before Blaine felt Kurt’s hands at the elastic of his underwear, tugging slightly. 

“Wait,” Blaine said. He reached over to turn the shower on so it could start heating up. 

They slipped out of their underwear and Blaine let Kurt step into the shower first. He adjusted the pressure so it was just right and stepped in close to Kurt. It wasn’t the biggest shower in the world but it fit both of them quite comfortably. 

Kurt’s lips were on his own moments later and Blaine moaned appreciatively. The feel of Kurt’s wet body against his own sent jolts through to Blaine’s stomach. 

Blaine reached for the shower gel and squirted some into his palm. “Turn around,” he said softly to Kurt, who did so immediately. 

Blaine rubbed his hands together, lathering up the gel before rubbing his hands over Kurt’s back. He applied just the right amount of pressure and he could hear the soft moans falling from Kurt’s lips. Blaine smiled to himself and pressed a kiss to the base of Kurt’s neck and each shoulder in turn before squatting to wash Kurt’s legs for him.

“Blaine, what are you…?”

“Shh,” Blaine said. “I want to.”

Kurt fell silent, save the occasional noise of appreciation, as Blaine washed his body for him. It was extremely intimate and Blaine knew that Kurt was putting a lot of trust in him right then but he just wanted the night to be perfect. He didn’t want the night to be one that Kurt regretted, or easily forgot. He wanted to make Kurt feel as good as possible.

He turned Kurt in his arms and gently washed Kurt’s chest with a fresh lather of the shower gel. Kurt’s eyes were closed as Blaine’s hands roamed his chest and his mouth was open ever so slightly. 

Once he was finished, Blaine pressed a kiss to Kurt’s lips and pulled Kurt flush against himself. He felt Kurt’s body react but Kurt pulled away before Blaine could do anything about it.

“I want to wash you too,” Kurt said, reaching for the shower gel. 

Blaine nodded and turned so Kurt had access to his back. Blaine closed his eyes as Kurt’s hands worked over his skin. His wet hair was falling in his eyes but Blaine couldn’t bring himself to care, not when Kurt was stroking the backs of his thighs like he was. 

He never thought he could feel turned on by someone washing him but Kurt was making Blaine aware of a lot of things he hadn’t known about himself. He sucked in a breath when Kurt pressed a kiss to the small of his back before he stood. Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine’s middle from behind and dropped kisses along his neck before taking his earlobe in his mouth. 

Blaine turned himself around in Kurt’s arms, kissing him hotly. Their hips aligned again and Blaine could feel Kurt’s erection sliding against his own. 

Kurt let out a gasp, clinging a little tighter to Blaine. Blaine moaned, and pressed wet kisses into Kurt’s shoulder as he wrapped a hand around their cocks, pumping slowly. 

“Oh,” Kurt moaned softly, crushing their lips together again in a kiss. Blaine felt Kurt’s hips jerk against his own and he tightened his grip around their erections. 

A moment later, Kurt jerked again and shuddered in Blaine’s arm, letting out soft noises as he came. Blaine followed a moment later, cock pulsing in his hand. He let the water wash away their mess as he held Kurt close. 

Kurt’s lips kissed along Blaine’s neck, nipping every so often. He sucked lightly on the sensitive spot just behind Blaine’s ear before pulling back, wearing a blissful smile. 

“That was nice,” Kurt said, letting his hands drop to Blaine’s waist. 

Blaine smiled and kissed Kurt again. “Yeah, it was.”

They stood under the shower head, letting the water cascade over them. Blaine felt so alive and so close to Kurt right then. He loved feeling like the way he did with Kurt.

“I think we should get out of the shower now,” Blaine said after a few more minutes of kissing.

“Okay,” Kurt agreed with a nod. 

Blaine shut off the water and pulled the glass door open so he could reach for their towels. He handed the first one to Kurt and took the second one for himself. 

After he was mostly dry, Blaine tied the towel around his middle and picked up their clothes to take to the bedroom, carefully hanging the shirts up before he crossed the room to Kurt once more. 

“You are amazing,” Blaine said softly.

“I haven’t done anything,” Kurt replied. 

“You have,” Blaine disagreed. “You’re letting me love you.”

Kurt flushed a little and smiled. They kissed softly before moving to the bed. Blaine could see that Kurt looked as nervous as he felt and he pulled back the covers so they could climb under. He slipped his towel off and draped it over the back of his door before moving back to the bed. 

“If at any time you want to stop, just say so, okay?” Blaine said as he slipped into the bed next to Kurt. 

Kurt nodded. “I promise.”

“Good,” Blaine said. 

He closed the gap between them, cupping Kurt’s face as he kissed him lovingly. Blaine kept his hips away from Kurt’s for a while. He didn’t want to scare Kurt with his raging hard on, even though they both knew that they were going to have sex for the first time. 

Blaine was extremely aware that it was Kurt’s first time with someone and he wanted it to be good for him. Blaine realised that technically, it was his first time, too. He hadn’t even been the ‘top’ before, only the bottom twice with Michael. He tried to keep his mind on making Kurt feel good rather than his own nerves. 

Kurt’s hands were gently stroking Blaine’s back as they kissed, fingertips grazing patches of sensitive skin that Blaine wasn’t even aware that he had. He shuddered lightly, breaking the kiss to look at Kurt. 

Blaine’s eyes widened as Kurt’s hand closed around his erection in a bold move. He could see the light flush of Kurt’s cheeks and he let out a shaky breath as Kurt’s hand started to move.

“Is this okay?” Kurt asked softly.

Blaine nodded, dropping his head onto Kurt’s shoulder. “Yes,” he replied needlessly. 

“I’m ready,” Kurt whispered, kissing Blaine gently on the lips.

Blaine nodded once more and shifted. He reached into the bed side drawer, pulling out a condom and the lubricant. He placed both of them back on the bed and shifted so he was over Kurt. 

“You sure?” Blaine asked again. 

“I’m sure.”

Kurt reached up, pulling him in for a kiss as he shifted his legs onto either side of Blaine’s own. Blaine moaned softly and wrapped his own hand around Kurt’s cock, pumping softly. Kurt shuddered beneath him and Blaine pulled back, not wanting Kurt to come before they had started.

He kissed Kurt’s throat before reaching over to uncap the lubricant.

“This is going to feel a bit strange,” Blaine said.

“I know,” Kurt replied. “I mean… I know.”

Blaine squirted some of the lubricant onto his fingers and rubbed it in to warm it up. He settled between Kurt’s legs again and lowered his hand. He kept his gaze on Kurt the whole time as he slowly stroked a finger at his entrance. Kurt’s eyes were closed and there was a little frown line on his forehead the moment Blaine slipped his finger inside of him. 

“Tell me if it hurts.”

“It’s fine,” Kurt assured him. “Just feels a little weird. Good, but weird.”

“Okay,” Blaine said, slowly moving the finger inside of Kurt.

“Blaine?” Kurt opened his eyes, looking at him. “Can you kiss me, please?”

“Of course.” 

Blaine leant forwards, kissing Kurt lovingly as he slowly worked his finger in and out of Kurt. Kurt’s arms wrapped around his shoulders, one hand sliding into his hair, tugging just the way Blaine liked it. He moaned into Kurt’s mouth, trying to concentrate on stretching Kurt. 

He crooked his finger and Kurt pulled back, gasping loudly. 

Blaine took in the sudden flush of his cheeks and the look of bliss that crossed over his face.

“What was that?” Kurt asked.

“Your prostate,” Blaine replied, dipping his head to kiss along Kurt’s throat, leaving tiny little red marks in his wake. 

“That felt amazing.”

Blaine purposefully brushed his finger over the spot again, watching as Kurt’s mouth dropped open in a silent gasp. 

Kurt pulled him in, kissing him hotly and Blaine kept moving his finger inside of Kurt. Soon, he added another finger, stretching Kurt as gently as he possibly could.

A while after Blaine’s third finger was added, Kurt broke the kiss long enough to whisper that he was ready. Blaine nodded and wiped his fingers on a small towel he had brought out from the bathroom for the occasion. 

Blaine shifted back and picked up the condom to open it. He rolled it onto himself and glanced back at Kurt. Once he had coated his erection with lubricant, Blaine shifted forwards, settling between Kurt’s legs once more. 

Kurt reached up, gently stroking Blaine’s cheek before kissing him softly. Blaine kept kissing Kurt as he pushed in, stilling completely once he was inside of Kurt. 

“Are you… Is this okay?” Blaine whispered.

“It hurts a bit,” Kurt admitted shakily. “Give me a minute.”

Blaine nodded. “Take all the time you need.”

He tried to wrap his head around the fact that he was inside of Kurt. They may not have been doing anything just yet but he was _inside_ of Kurt and it felt _incredible_. It wasn’t like anything Blaine had ever felt before, being practically a virgin himself. He felt every single muscle in his body burn with desire and he felt so connected to Kurt. Like he could just about feel Kurt’s heart beating in his own chest.

Blaine couldn’t help himself; he kissed along Kurt’s collarbone and up to his ear. “I love you,” he whispered. “So much.”

“I love you too,” Kurt whispered back, and he turned his head, meeting Blaine’s lips with his own. 

Blaine kissed Kurt slowly, enjoying the simple feeling of their lips against each others. Kurt flicked his tongue out, rubbing against Blaine’s lower lip and he smiled for a moment. 

“You can move now,” Kurt said, fingers stroking along Blaine’s shoulder and over his back. 

“Just tell me to stop if it hurts too much.”

Blaine slowly moved his hips, feeling his arms shake a little from holding himself up for so long. He pulled out only a little bit so he wouldn’t hurt Kurt when he thrust back in. He slowly built up a momentum and set a pace of thrusting into Kurt.

Kurt’s moans filled Blaine’s ears and he tried to kiss him as best as he could. One of Kurt’s hands was squeezing Blaine’s hip, encouraging him to keep moving and the other was tangled in Blaine’s hair as they kissed. 

“Oh!” Kurt moaned loudly. “Right there.”

Blaine nodded, aiming for Kurt’s prostate again. He kept thrusting inside of Kurt, feeling his stomach tighten in the familiar way that meant his orgasm was fast approaching. 

He shifted onto one arm, wrapping his fingers around Kurt’s leaking erection. He stroked Kurt in time with his thrusts and he felt Kurt’s muscles involuntarily clench around him. Blaine let out a long moan, feeling his body react to the action. 

“Kurt… Kurt,” Blaine whispered. “So close.”

“Go a little faster,” Kurt said, breathing heavily.

Blaine complied and he felt Kurt’s muscles contract around him once more as he came with a groan, turning his head into Blaine’s arm. Blaine’s body reacted immediately and he came hard, still thrusting into Kurt. 

Once they stopped moving, the only sound in the room was their heavy breathing. Blaine licked his lips, feeling completely exhausted but so energised at the same time. His skin tingled all over and he knew he was probably a sweaty mess but the moment he caught Kurt’s smile, all his worries disappeared.

Blaine pulled out of Kurt after a moment, eliciting a small moan from him and he cleaned them up with the towel. 

Kurt shuffled closer and looked at Blaine shyly. “That was really nice,” he said.

Blaine smiled, pressing his lips to Kurt’s own. “It was,” he replied. “Thank you.”

They kissed again lazily, tenderly exploring each other’s mouths with soft touches of their tongues. Blaine’s heart felt like it could burst in his chest from the amount of love he felt for Kurt right then. 

There were no thoughts about how wrong having sex with Kurt was, or that anyone might find out that he was now officially sleeping with one of his students. No, his thoughts centred around the fact that Kurt was the most perfect and beautiful human being Blaine had ever met and he hoped that he never, ever lost him.

Blaine tugged the blankets up around them after a while, and Kurt automatically curled against his chest, lightly touching Blaine’s cheek. Kurt’s lips brushed against his own once more and they smiled at each other. 

“You’re so amazing, Kurt,” Blaine whispered. “So amazing.”

“Stop that,” Kurt replied, wrapping his arms around Blaine as they settled into the mattress for sleep. 

“It’s true,” Blaine insisted, as he stroked Kurt’s back. “You’re the most amazing person I have ever met and I’m so glad that you let me be this close to you.”

Kurt’s cheeks flushed heavily and he ducked his head, facing away from Blaine. “Normally, I love compliments but this time, I can’t graciously accept it.”

“Why not?” 

“Because you’re just as much a part of this as I am,” Kurt replied, finally looking up at Blaine. “You’re amazing, Blaine. You’re so intelligent, and tender and _so_ loving.”

Blaine smiled and kissed Kurt. “Okay, so we’re both amazing, got it,” he said. “I think we should get some sleep now because I am exhausted.”

“Good night, Blaine,” Kurt whispered, pressing a kiss into Blaine’s bare chest. 

“Good night, Kurt,” Blaine returned, cuddling Kurt to him.

Blaine held Kurt as close as he could, Kurt tucked into his side, their legs twined together. Blaine thought about their amazing night and how thankful it was that everything had gone perfectly


	9. Chapter 9

Waking in Blaine’s arms was something Kurt decided that he could definitely get used to. As the memories of the previous night flooded his mind, Kurt realised he was easily the luckiest person in the world. While he couldn’t really share his feelings with anyone, he could certainly bask in the memory of them. 

Blaine was still fast asleep when Kurt woke up and he just watched him for a while, noticing how all of the creases that were on Blaine’s face during the day disappeared while he slept. He looked so peaceful, childlike, even; face purely innocent. 

Kurt was more than lucky to have found Blaine. He had never felt so in love with anyone before and the thought didn’t even scare him like he used to think it would.

He watched Blaine for a little while longer before getting up to use the bathroom. He washed himself carefully and pulled on some clothes. He pressed a kiss to the top of Blaine’s head and shuffled as quietly as possible from the bedroom.

Once in Blaine’s kitchen, Kurt started to make them breakfast. He chopped up a variety of different fruits, laying the selections out on a plate and even though it was completely unhealthy, Kurt toasted two bagels for them as well. He had just finished pouring two mugs of herbal tea when he felt lips on the back of his neck.

“Morning,” Blaine said, voice gruff from sleep. “What’s all this?”

“Breakfast of champions,” Kurt replied, turning in Blaine’s arms. “Go back to bed, I’ll bring it in.”

“I’ll carry something,” Blaine said, kissing along Kurt’s neck. 

Kurt smiled. Blaine was adorably rumpled in the morning, curly hair sticking out in all directions from sleep. He was clad in only a pair of sweat pants and Kurt had to resist the urge to just reach out and touch Blaine. He focused on the fact that he had just spent over half an hour preparing their breakfast and he wanted to enjoy it with Blaine before he had to leave for Lima. 

“Can you take the mugs then?” Kurt asked.

“Of course,” Blaine said, kissing Kurt on the lips briefly before clasping the two mugs in his hand. 

Kurt picked up the tray with their food on it and followed Blaine back to the bedroom. He carefully handed Blaine the tray so he could settle the legs on the bed and he slipped back into bed next to him.

“This looks fantastic,” Blaine said as he picked up a bagel, lathering it with butter before taking a bite.

Kurt smiled and picked up some fruit to eat. “I thought we could enjoy a lazy morning together before I have to leave.”

“You’re so sweet, thank you,” Blaine said. “I wish you could stay though. It’d be nice to spend the whole day together.”

“We will soon,” Kurt said. “Christmas is in two weeks and we can spend some time together then. I’ll just tell my dad I’m sleeping over at Jeff or Nick’s house.”

“Kurt,” Blaine started softly. “I don’t want you to lie to your dad.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow at Blaine. “I kind of already am,” he said. “We’re lying to everyone about this. About us.”

“I know.”

They fell silent, a sense of awkwardness hung between them as they finished their breakfast. Kurt picked up his mug of herbal tea and took a long sip, letting its warmth fill him. Even though it was just the beginning of winter, the cold had hit hard. Kurt loved the winter for the many, many fashion opportunities there were as well as the amount of scarves he could get away with owning. 

“That was possibly the best breakfast I’ve ever had,” Blaine said, breaking the silence a few minutes later. “Thank you.”

Kurt smiled. “It was nothing.”

Blaine reached over and took Kurt’s mug from his hand, setting it on the bed side table next to his own. “It was,” he whispered before brushing their lips together. 

Kurt’s hand automatically found its way into Blaine’s hair, deepening the kiss. Blaine cupped his cheek, his thumb stroking softly across the skin. They moved together, tangled in each other’s arms as they laid back down on the bed. Kurt shifted, running a hand down Blaine’s side, coming to rest on his hip. 

Blaine broke the kiss and looked over at the bedside table. “It’s eight, when do you have to be home by?”

“Lunch time,” Kurt replied. “Why’s that?”

“That gives us two hours to enjoy alone together then.”

Kurt smiled, pulling Blaine in for another kiss. 

As he drove home, just under two hours later, Kurt couldn’t stop smiling. Loving Blaine was possibly the best thing that had ever happened to him.

“I’m home,” he called out as he walked through the front door. He heard the sound of someone shuffling in the kitchen and he wandered over to see Finn and Mercedes standing closely together. He grinned widely at them. “Hi.”

“Hey, Kurt, we were, uh…” Finn started, flustered. 

“Hey, boo,” Mercedes said, giving Finn a look before crossing the room to give him a hug. “How was the drive?”

“Long and lonely but I survived,” Kurt replied, hugging her back. “How are you both?”

Mercedes smiled as she pulled back and she glanced over at Finn. “We’re good.”

Kurt kept smiling. “I might leave you both to it and go help Dad in the shop.”

“Keep tonight free, we’re having a girly night,” Mercedes said. 

Kurt nodded. “Will do,” he replied, leaving the pair alone. 

Kurt headed up the stairs to put his bags down and he checked his cell phone, sending Blaine a text to let him know he got home safely before heading out of the house again. 

He arrived at the shop a few minutes later and saw his dad leaning over under the hood of a car. Kurt stepped into the office to quickly change into his overalls before heading back out into the shop.

“Hey, Dad,” he said, passing his dad the wrench he was reaching for.

“Hey, son,” Burt greeted, straightening. “Safe drive?”

Kurt nodded. “It was fine; there was hardly any traffic on the road.”

“Good,” Burt said, leaning back under the hood of the car. 

They chatted while Burt worked and Kurt helped wherever he could. He ended up being the one to roll under the car to make sure that everything was functioning properly. 

“What time is it?” Burt asked after a while.

“Almost one,” Kurt replied. 

“No wonder I’m starving,” Burt said. “Can you handle things here? I’m going to take a break.”

“Of course, Dad.”

Burt left him alone and Kurt started humming to himself as he worked. He checked off on the list of what needed to be done to the next car and he saw that it was a general service so he started the routine that was ingrained into his mind since he was a little boy.

He worked around the car with a practiced ease, mentally checking things off in his mind as he went a long. Servicing a car for Kurt was like buttering a piece of toast – it just happened without really thinking about it. When he was younger, after his mother had passed away, it was something he and his dad did to bond. Kurt knew more about cars by the time he was eleven years old, including how to drive almost any make and model, than most grown men that walked into his dad’s shop.

Kurt prided himself on his ability to recognise the make and model of a car by the briefest glance, or better yet, the sound of the engine. His dad used to test him on it every day after he had completed his homework. He didn’t know any different, it was a part of their routine. Just like Kurt holding tea parties and teaching his dad how to behave like a proper gentleman while at one. 

Even though Kurt missed his mom a lot growing up, he thought he was really lucky to have a dad like Burt – someone who was always there for him, no matter what. 

As he changed the oil, he started to sing, still feeling happy from his and Blaine’s amazing evening and just as amazing morning. 

He didn’t realise that his singing had gone from just muttering under his breath to full on singing until his dad was back at his side.

“Was that Nat King Cole?” Burt asked. 

Kurt flushed and nodded. “Yeah, it was,” he replied.

“Why are you singing _L-O-V-E_ -?” Burt asked, a slight amused look on his face. “That was your mom’s and my song.”

“I know,” Kurt replied. “It’s a lovely song.”

Burt chuckled. “C’mon, kid, out with it. Who is he?”

Kurt flushed again, picking up a rag to clean the mess on his hands. “Just a guy from school,” he said. “We’ve just started dating.”

“I want to meet him,” Burt said.

“Dad!” Kurt protested. “We’ve _just_ started dating; can’t I see where it goes first?”

Burt sighed. “Fine,” he said. “But the moment you two start getting serious, I want an introduction or I’m coming over to Dalton.”

Kurt nodded. “Those are acceptable terms,” he said, mind automatically going to who he could ask to visit as his boyfriend who wouldn’t ask questions. 

With any luck, if Kurt kept his happiness toned down, his dad would forget about the fact that he had a boyfriend.

~*~

“You have gossip.”

Kurt glanced at Mercedes and quirked an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve known you since we were eight, Kurt,” Mercedes started. “I _know_ you and when you have something juicy to share, you get all twitchy and play with your hands.”

Kurt looked at his hands, which were, in fact, clasped in his lap and he was kind of wringing them. “Fine,” he said. “You got me. I have gossip.”

Mercedes grinned widely. “Spill.”

Kurt looked at his closed bedroom door and shifted on his bed, tucking his feet under his legs as he faced Mercedes. He held out his pinkie finger to her, reminiscent of their childhood days. “Promise you _won’t_ tell a soul. Not even Finn. Actually, _especially_ not Finn.”

“Deal,” Mercedes said, hooking their pinkies together and tugging once in a promise.

“I met someone,” Kurt started.

Mercedes let out a squeal and Kurt waved his hand at her to get her to be quiet. “Shh!” he said. “My dad might hear and he’ll start asking awkward questions again.”

“Wait – again?” 

Kurt nodded. “He caught me singing Nat King Cole’s _L-O-V-E_ earlier at the shop and made me tell him that I was seeing someone.”

“Oh, Kurt, I’m so happy for you,” Mercedes said, pulling him in for a hug. “So, who is he? I want details. Is he tall, does he sing? Is he hot? Tell me _everything_!”

Kurt grinned and told her as much as he could. He said that it was a ‘guy from school’; an excuse that he found alluded to the fact that it was a student but since Blaine technically _was_ a guy from school, he wasn’t lying. 

He mentioned that Blaine was shorter than he was by only a little bit but he didn’t really mind. He said how Blaine could sing better than almost anyone he knew and that their voices fit perfectly together. 

He told Mercedes about Blaine’s passion for writing and that he had written so much already.

“He’s really inspiring,” Kurt finished.

“There’s something else you’re not telling me,” Mercedes said.

Kurt flushed. “We slept together last night.”

Mercedes’ eyes went wide. “You didn’t?” 

Kurt nodded. “Yeah, we did,” he replied with a smile, remembering the way Blaine had been so gentle and so caring with him. 

“How was it?” 

“It was really nice,” Kurt said, giving Mercedes a shy grin. “He was so loving and perfect. I don’t think I could have asked for a better way to lose my virginity.”

The memory flashed in his mind, the way Blaine kissed him and held him afterwards had been the best part for Kurt. Being able to fall asleep in Blaine’s arms, feeling so loved and so cared for had left Kurt feeling like he was on cloud 9 all day long. 

“Oh, Kurt,” Mercedes gushed. “I’m so happy for you.”

Kurt grinned and hugged her again. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m pretty happy for me too.”

Mercedes chuckled. “So, when do I get to meet him? I need to see if he’s good enough for my boo or not.”

“Maybe after Christmas,” Kurt said. “He’s… going away for the break, so we won’t be able to see each other at all.”

“Aw, damn, you first Christmas together too!” 

Kurt shrugged. “It’s okay,” he lied. “I’m sure there will be other Christmases we can share.”

They changed topics to what Mercedes could get Finn for Christmas and Kurt said told her any type of Xbox game was what Finn would probably love forever. Kurt wondered what he should get Blaine for Christmas. He had been thinking on it for a while and hadn’t been able to find the perfect gift for him. He didn’t want to go the cheesy, traditional route and buy Blaine a book; he wanted to get him something unique. He wanted Blaine to always be able to look back on the gift and say ‘that was from our first Christmas together’.

Kurt was a little upset that they couldn’t even spend a couple of hours together on Christmas day without his dad wanting to meet Blaine. The best way to avoid all of that would be to say that Blaine was out of town so they couldn’t see him.

Long after Mercedes left, Kurt wondered what would be the perfect gift for Blaine. He jotted down a few ideas and decided to do some shopping before he headed back to Dalton the next day.

~*~

Sunday evening, Kurt was exhausted. He had left Lima in the middle of the afternoon so he could do some shopping in Columbus before heading back to Westerville. He stopped to visit Blaine, unable to keep the smile off his face as he greeted his boyfriend with a searing kiss. 

They had spent most of the afternoon curled up on Blaine’s couch, basking in each other’s presence and their alone time before Kurt realised that it was getting late. He reluctantly left Blaine in the early evening and arrived back at Dalton by eight pm.

Kurt was thankful that the dorm was empty when he got back. He started to unpack his overnight bag, sorting his clothes and putting the dirty ones into his laundry hamper. He had just tucked away Blaine’s presents in a safe place when the door opened.

“Hey, Jeff,” Kurt greeted his friend happily. “How was your weekend?”

“Uh,” Jeff started, tone immediately alerting Kurt that something was wrong. “It was kind of stressful.”

Kurt put his moisturiser down and turned to look at Jeff. “Why was it stressful?”

Jeff looked completely flustered and it was something Kurt had never seen on him before. Jeff was always the cool, calm and collected guy. Even in the most stressful of situations, Jeff had a clear mind and thought about things rationally. From his expression, Kurt knew that it had to be something massive to rattle him.

“Jeff?” he pressed, crossing the room to put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. 

Jeff looked up at him and Kurt couldn’t comprehend his gaze. “Kurt, I’m going to ask you something and I need you to be completely honest with me.”

“Okay,” Kurt answered without hesitation.

“Are you and Mr Anderson dating?”

Kurt froze. He felt the colour drain from his face and he instantly felt sick. His mind replayed Jeff’s question a few times over before Kurt shook his head. He sat down heavily on his bed and put his face in his hands, trying to control his breathing.

“Why…? What…? H-how…?” 

Kurt looked up and saw Jeff licking his lips. His discomfort was written all over his face and Kurt felt bad. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and nodded once. “Yes,” he said meekly.

“Oh, shit,” Jeff whispered, staring at him.

“Jeff, please don’t tell anyone!” Kurt exclaimed. “Please!”

“Kurt! How could you – ugh, I don’t even want to know!”

Jeff threw his hands up in the air, clearly exasperated and Kurt could only sit and watch him as he started to pace. 

“Do you know how hard this weekend has been for me? I’ve been going crazy, wondering if I imagined it, or if I’d seen wrong but apparently I hadn’t.”

Kurt’s face crumpled and he looked away from his best friend. He couldn’t even bring himself to try and placate Jeff. A small part of him felt relief that someone else knew but Jeff was reacting exactly how anyone else would react and it killed Kurt.

“Shit, Kurt,” Jeff said after a few moments. “Do you know how stupid this is?”

Kurt nodded, willing himself not to cry. 

“Is this why you’re never around anymore? Oh, god, it is, isn’t it? How could I have missed this?” Jeff rambled. “You’ve been acting different, secretive. You’ve come home looking like Nick and I do after one of our more playful afternoons and I completely missed it. I’m so stupid!”

“Jeff, please,” Kurt said, voice cracking as he spoke. “I… I didn’t want to lie to you.”

“Far out, Kurt,” Jeff turned on his heel, facing him. “This is a criminal offence. He’s our _teacher_!”

“I know!” Kurt blurted out. “I know he is, I’m not that stupid but I’m in love with him!”

Jeff let out a frustrated sigh. “How did this even happen?”

Kurt swallowed thickly, wondering if Jeff was being serious or not. From the look Jeff gave him, it was soon apparent that he was. “Um,” he muttered. “We were talking about books and he loaned me his copy of _Little Women_ and we kissed.”

“How long has this been going on for?” Jeff asked, finally stopping in his erratic pacing. 

“…A while,” Kurt whispered.

The room fell silent and after a moment, Kurt looked away. He could see how ashamed Jeff was of him – it was written clearly on his face. Kurt felt awful. He wanted to cry but he knew it would do him no good, especially when Jeff was so upset.

“Have you slept with him?”

Kurt stayed silent, not meeting Jeff’s gaze.

“Oh my god, you have.”

“Only just!” Kurt exclaimed, looking up at Jeff. “I lost my virginity to him on Friday night.”

The sound of a door closing echoed loudly in the room and both Kurt and Jeff whipped around to see who was there.

“You lost your virginity?” Nick asked, looking at Kurt as he stepped into the room. “Congratulations!”

As Nick stepped forwards to give Kurt what he presumed was going to be a congratulatory hug, Jeff’s arm whipped out and he pulled Nick back to his side. 

“Kurt lost his virginity to Mr Anderson,” Jeff said bluntly.

Kurt felt tears spring to his eyes as he heard Jeff’s comment. He sat back down on the bed and buried his face in his hands.

“Whoa, what?” Nick asked. “Kurt, is that true?”

“Yes,” Kurt replied, wiping his eyes. 

Silence followed Kurt’s answer and he reached for his tissues, balling two up to press at his eyes. The bed dipped beside him a moment later, startling him.

“Are you okay?” Nick asked softly.

Kurt looked over at Jeff who had an annoyed look on his face but was watching them carefully. “No,” he whispered.

Nick pulled him in for a tight hug and Kurt let out a broken sob. “Shh,” he said, rubbing Kurt’s back in small, soothing circles. “Shh, it’s okay.”

Kurt controlled his sobs as best as he could. He didn’t want anyone else coming in and asking why he was crying.

“What happened?”

Kurt pulled back and glanced between Nick and Jeff. “I… Jeff saw us…”

Nick glanced over at Jeff. “Want to tell me what happened?” he asked, keeping his arm around Kurt.

“Friday after class, Kurt stayed behind,” Jeff started. “I left my book under the desk by accident and I went back to get it when I saw Kurt and Mr Anderson kissing. Kurt came home a while ago and I asked him, he didn’t deny it.”

Kurt sniffed, wiping his nose with the tissue. “I didn’t… I’m sorry,” he said brokenly.

“It’s okay,” Nick said. “Honestly, it’s fine. Jeff and I aren’t going to tell anyone.”

“You’re not?” Kurt asked, surprised as he looked over at Jeff.

“Shit, Kurt,” Jeff said. “I’m not going to tell anyone.”

Kurt gave Jeff a hopeful glance. “Thank you.”

Nick rubbed his shoulder. “What else happened?”

Kurt glanced down at his hands. “We slept together on Friday night for the first time.”

“And are you sure you wanted it? He didn’t pressure you?”

“No! God, no,” Kurt exclaimed. “I’m so in love with him, Nicky,” he said. “He kept telling me he didn’t want us to be in a relationship but I’m the one who pushed it…”

“You pushed it?” Jeff asked from across the room. 

Kurt nodded. “After we kissed, he said it couldn’t happen again. It was wrong and it was illegal so we couldn’t. But I went to see him again and we kissed. We’ve been together ever since. Just in secret.”

“I can’t get my head around this,” Jeff said. “It’s not… It’s not you, Kurt. Well, it kind of is. I guess I just never pictured you being with anyone like him but it all makes sense.”

“Kurt,” Nick started softly. “We’re here to support you, in whatever you choose but this is dangerous ground you’re treading on. You’re a legal adult and the police won’t hesitate to throw you in jail too if they see fit.”

“I know,” Kurt whispered. “I just… I can’t, Nicky, I love him.”

The room fell silent again and Kurt looked between Nick and Jeff who seemed to be having a conversation with only their eyes.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Nick said. “We think it’s best that you and Blaine keep it completely off school grounds.”

“Don’t be reckless, it could have been someone else that caught you, not me,” Jeff added.

Nick nodded. “I get that you have really deep feelings for Mr Anderson but the end of the school year is only six months away – if you can stop seeing him in that time, it probably would be for the best. However, I know what it’s like to be in love and heaven help anyone who try and take Jeff away from me.”

Kurt looked up, catching the small smile that crossed Jeff’s face.

“Look, we love you, Kurt,” Jeff said. “And we’re here for you but this is just a _lot_ to process.”

“I know,” Kurt replied, voice thick from crying.

“I just don’t know how I’m going to go into class tomorrow and look at him, knowing that he took my best friend’s virginity,” Jeff said, crinkling his nose.

“Like I didn’t hear every single detail when you and Nick slept together for the first time.”

Jeff grinned. “True.”

“Just promise us one thing,” Nick said, tone serious. “If he hurts you, or if he forces you at all – break it off. Come and tell us and we’ll take it to the police.”

“It won’t come to that,” Kurt replied immediately.

“Just promise,” Nick repeated.

“I promise,” Kurt replied without hesitation. 

Nick leant forwards and kissed Kurt’s temple. “We’ll keep your secret, Kurt.”

“Scout’s honour,” Jeff said, holding up his hand. 

Kurt gave them a watery smile. “Thanks. Ugh, I’m a mess, I’m going to shower.”

Kurt stood and was surprised when Jeff’s arms wrapped around him in a tight hug.

“I love you, Kurt,” he started. “So much.”

“I love you too.”

~*~

“Mr Hummel, I’d like to see you after class, please.”

Kurt looked up and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

The bell sounded, signalling the end of class and while everyone else bustled around him, Kurt stayed seated, packing up his belongings. He closed his bag over and stood, heading to the front of the classroom where Blaine was wiping down the board.

“Hi,” Blaine said, reaching over to take Kurt’s hand.

Kurt flinched and pulled back, immediately looking around.

“Is something wrong?” Blaine asked, voice laced with concern.

“There’s something I have to tell you,” Kurt said, clasping his hands in front of him. “You’re probably not going to like it.”

“Kurt, what’s wrong?” 

Kurt shifted from one foot to the other, nerves tingling in his stomach.

After Sunday night, Kurt had thought long and hard about telling Blaine that Nick and Jeff knew. There were really only two ways it could go: Blaine would flip out and break things off, or he might be okay with it. Kurt knew that the former was most likely to happen.

He hated feeling so guilty. He loved Blaine more than he had ever loved another person before but he had the right to know that their secret was now kept by two other people.

Kurt trusted Nick and Jeff with his life. If there were two people who would, without a doubt, keep this a secret, it was them. They were like brothers to Kurt. They were a tight-knit unit and Kurt valued their friendship and their loyalty. 

It felt better, having people know. Kurt had felt so alone for so long, that meeting Blaine, despite the fact that their relationship was unconventional, was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He hated keeping his relationship a secret, especially when it made him so happy. Kurt felt good that he could finally talk to someone about it and not have to watch what he said, or how much he said in case someone figured it out.

After his initial freak out, Jeff had been okay with him. The tension had pretty much dissipated once Kurt had finished showering and he spent the remainder of the evening, curled on Jeff’s bed, telling him about how amazing Blaine was. 

Kurt felt his heart soar when Jeff had said that he looked happier than he had in a long time. The best part was that Kurt _felt_ happier. 

“Uh, on Friday,” Kurt started, swallowing thickly. “Jeff saw us.”

Blaine’s face paled. “W-what do you mean?”

“Jeff saw you and I kissing in here,” Kurt elaborated. “He came back to get his book and he saw that kiss we shared.”

“And?”

Kurt looked at Blaine’s face, which was uncharacteristically blank. “I didn’t deny it.”

Tension filled the room as Kurt kept his gaze on Blaine. He watched his boyfriend, trying to decipher what he could possibly be thinking. 

“Blaine?” 

“I knew this wasn’t going to last,” Blaine said, avoiding Kurt’s gaze.

Kurt blinked. “Pardon?”

“Kurt, a student knows! This isn’t good,” Blaine exclaimed. “We were foolish to think that we could get away with this in the first place!”

“Blaine, Nick and Jeff aren’t going to say anything!” Kurt replied, stepping closer.

“Nick _and_ Jeff?” Blaine repeated. “Kurt! I can’t believe you told _two_ people!”

“I can’t exactly keep it a secret from one when the other has already found out.”

“Why the hell not?” Blaine snapped, face contorted in an ugly frown. “If one of your friends thinks I’ve pissed them off, who is to say that they won’t report me? Huh? Did you think about that?”

“Blaine, they’re _not_ like that!” 

“Kurt, I think you should leave.”

“Blaine, please,” Kurt said desperately. “ _Please_. It’s fine, they’re not going to say anything, I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Blaine said coldly. “Please shut the door when you leave.”

Kurt stared at Blaine, feeling like his entire world was crumbling from around him. He bit back a sob and he fled the room, heart pounding in his chest and the world swimming before his eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Blaine fought the urge to rub his temples.

“I understand where you’re coming from, Mr Hummel, but I think you’re misinterpreting the text.”

“So, you’re saying that Juliet _wasn’t_ foolish to just leap into a relationship with Romeo?” Kurt baited, keeping his gaze on Blaine. “From where I stand, Juliet could have saved herself a whole lot of heartache, and, oh, I don’t know, _death_ , if she had thought rationally about a boy she had _just_ met!”

“It isn’t about if Juliet was being foolish,” Blaine replied, shifting from where he perched on the edge of his desk. “It’s about the fact that these two star-crossed lovers were never meant to be. Sure, they were a nice couple while they were alive but what’s to say that their relationship wouldn’t have been toxic if Romeo hadn’t been banished?”

“I just think that Juliet shouldn’t have jumped when she saw Romeo, he’s nothing special.”

“Kurt, you’re taking this out of context, it’s a _love_ story.”

“Sure, a love story that ends in tragedy,” Kurt retorted. 

“Maybe, when you’re older, you’ll understand a thing or two about love, but right now, we’re in an English class–”

“Don’t presume that I know nothing about love because I’m still in high school, Mr Anderson,” Kurt cut in coldly. Blaine could see the epic ‘bitch face’ that Kurt had told him about forming on his beautiful face. “Just because I’m only eighteen doesn’t mean a damn thing when it comes to love. 

“In fact, I’m willing to bet that I know a lot more about love than you do, Mr Anderson.”

The resounding ‘ _oohs_ ’ from the other students snapped Blaine back to reality. “Kurt, that is out of line.”

“For an English teacher, you probably don’t know the first _thing_ about love.”

“Kurt, I’m warning you.”

“Struck a nerve, have I?”

“Get the hell out of my classroom!”

The classroom fell deathly silent as Kurt packed up his books and left the room. 

Blaine glanced around the rest of the classroom. “Finish reading the Act and work on your papers,” he said, moving to sit behind his desk. He concentrated on marking the papers from his fifth period class, trying not to let his anger get the better of him.

It was one thing for Kurt to be pissed off at him, but it was another to openly use that annoyance in the classroom. 

They hadn’t spoken for the better part of a week since Kurt told him that Jeff and Nick knew about their relationship.

Blaine had endured his first weekend, in a long time, without Kurt. He had noticed the difference when he got home from work on Friday night and Kurt hadn’t been there with titillating stories about his own week. 

He had gone to sleep in an empty bed, and even though Kurt had only slept over a few weekends in a row, it was still enough to make Blaine miss him. 

The moment the bell rang to signal the end of class, Blaine let out a sigh of relief. That had to have been the hardest lesson he had dealt with all year. He waited until his students had left before putting his head in his hands. He took off his classes and pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, letting the pressure distract from his thoughts. 

There was a soft knock on his door a few moments later and Blaine looked up, slipping his glasses back on his face.

“Sally, hi,” Blaine said, moving to stand. “What brings you down to this end of the school?”

“I just heard some _interesting_ gossip,” Sally said as she made her way into the classroom.

“Yeah?” Blaine prompted.

“Mmhmm,” Sally nodded, perching on the edge of one of the desks. “I just heard from three different students, in passing, that you blew up at a student in your class today?”

“That’s out _already_?” Blaine asked, shocked. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Just because he was teaching in an all boys school, didn’t mean that gossip didn’t flow as freely as it did with girls. He bit back a strangled groan and ran his hand through his curly hair. 

“Want to tell me what happened?” Sally prodded.

Blaine sighed. “I lost control of my temper,” he started. “And one of my students kept baiting me and I told him to get out of my class.”

“Which student, maybe I can have a talk to him?” 

“Kurt Hummel.”

“Kurt? Really?” Sally asked, raising her eyebrows. “I’m surprised. He’s normally quite… Well, reserved isn’t the correct word, because he can snark better than anyone I’ve ever met but he doesn’t normally treat his teachers with disrespect.”

Blaine shrugged. “Maybe he was having a bad day, too?”

“Speaking of, what has got your panties in a twist?” Sally asked, shifting slightly on the desk.

“It’s nothing,” Blaine said.

“Clearly it is,” Sally insisted. “You don’t just tell students to get out of your class for no reason, Blaine.”

“Fine,” Blaine mumbled. “I had a fight with my boyfriend last week and we’re not speaking at the moment.”

“Oh, honey,” Sally said, reaching over to pat Blaine on the shoulder. She slapped him upside his head a moment later. 

“What was that for?” Blaine exclaimed.

“That’s for being an idiot,” Sally said. “I don’t know what the fight was about but you need to fix it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone looking so sorry for themselves since my cat got his head stuck in the grill behind my refrigerator.” 

Blaine gave her a scowl but relaxed immediately. “I just don’t know how to fix it.”

“Start with flowers,” Sally said. “If he’s as amazing as you say he is, he’ll appreciate the gesture. Then,” she continued. “I suggest you start begging for his forgiveness and hope that he accepts.”

“How do you know it was my fault?” Blaine protested.

“You just yelled at a student in your class,” Sally said like it was obvious. “Clearly, it was your fault.”

Blaine couldn’t even bring himself to argue. “You’re right,” he said. “I’ll talk to him tonight, if he’ll accept my call, that is.”

“Good boy,” Sally said with a smile. “Now, scoot, Principal Gibbons wants to see you in his office. He heard about the yelling too.”

Blaine groaned. “Thanks for telling me,” he said, closing over his briefcase. “Let’s just hope he forgives me as quickly as you did.”

Sally beamed at him. “Unlikely but if you play your cards right, he might.”

She winked at him and left the classroom. Blaine sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose from under his glasses. He and Kurt hadn’t spoke for almost seven days now. He knew his frustration was showing but it was pretty silly to let it out on Kurt during their lesson. He needed to fix it.

Blaine locked his classroom as he left and he caught more than a few students staring at him as he walked down the corridor. He ignored the glances and the whispers and headed straight for the Principal’s office, feeling much like he was a student who had just been caught setting fire to one of the chemistry labs.

Blaine knocked on the door. “You wanted to see me?” he asked.

“Blaine, come in,” Frank said, waving him in. “Close the door, too.”

Blaine nodded and closed the door behind him. He sat in one of the seats facing Frank’s desk and waited, nerves bubbling in his stomach.

“So,” Frank started. “Want to tell me why you’re yelling at one of your best students in the middle of a lesson?”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Blaine said immediately. “I took my bad mood out on him and it won’t happen ever again.”

“Blaine,” Frank said, peering over the top of his glasses at him. “This isn’t like you. You’ve never shown any kind of anger like this in all of the years I’ve known you, what’s going on?”

Blaine took a breath. “Sorry, sir,” he said. “I’ve just been having some relationship problems and we were discussing Romeo and Juliet in class today.”

“Ahh,” Frank said like it explained everything. “While I understand your passion on the subject, you really do need to keep control of your temper in the classroom. We have a standard to follow.”

“I know, sir,” Blaine nodded, licking his lips. “It won’t happen again, I promise.”

Frank stared at him for a moment. “See that it doesn’t,” he said. “You may go now.”

Blaine nodded once more and stood, exiting the room. Once he was safely in his car, Blaine let out a shaky breath. He picked up his phone and dialled the all too familiar number. 

“Kurt?”

_“Calling to yell at me some more?”_

“No, of course not,” Blaine said guiltily. “I wanted to apologise. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that today.”

_“…Go on.”_

“I was hoping that we could meet up?” Blaine started. “I’d prefer to apologise in person. If you want to see me, that is?”

 _“I guess I can accommodate that_ ,” Kurt replied. _“I have a lot of homework tonight. How about tomorrow?”_

“Tomorrow is perfect,” Blaine said, grinning. “I’ll cook.”

 _“I’ll cook,_ ” Kurt replied. _“Just get some more groceries; your fridge was nearly empty the last time I was there.”_

The call ended and Blaine couldn’t stop smiling. He felt better already.

~*~

“I really have to go,” Kurt said between kisses. 

Blaine wrapped his arms tighter around Kurt’s middle and made a soft noise of protest. “Do you _really_ have to?” he asked, slipping his hand to cup Kurt’s bottom over his black skinny designer jeans.

“I do,” Kurt replied. “You’re making this hard.”

“Am I?”

“So lewd, Mr Anderson,” Kurt whispered, kissing Blaine hard.

Blaine grinned and squeezed Kurt’s hip with his free hand. “Fine, fine, go,” he said and he pulled back completely. “I don’t see why you have to go, though.”

“Of course you don’t,” Kurt replied, picking up his bag. “As far as the world is concerned, you’re here, marking papers or whatever it is teachers supposedly do after school finishes for the day. I, on the other hand, have a Warblers practice to get to and I’m running late as it is.”

“This is so unfair,” Blaine said childishly.

“Hush, you,” Kurt replied, pulling his shirt straight. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kurt leant forwards, kissing Blaine one last time before he disappeared.

Blaine grinned and locked the door behind him. He headed into the kitchen to start on dinner when there was a knock on the door. 

“Come back for more, have y- Wes! Hi,” Blaine said, as he opened the door.

Wes frowned slightly. “Who were you expecting back?” he asked as he stepped into Blaine’s apartment.

“No one,” Blaine replied, closing the door. “How are you?”

Wes shrugged off his coat and hung it on the back of the door. “I’m good,” he answered. “Have you started dinner yet? I’m starving.”

“Not yet,” Blaine said, crossing back into the kitchen. “I was about to cook. Or would you prefer to order in?”

“Order in; I could use a disgustingly large pizza.”

“Uh oh, trouble in paradise?” Blaine asked as he took two beers from the fridge, handing one to Wes.

“Work paradise, yes,” Wes said and he launched into a tale of just why he was working for the most incompetent people apparently known to mankind. 

Blaine ordered the pizza and sat on the couch with Wes, listening to his friend vent. By the sounds of his story, he really needed it. Wes seemed to have a lot of pent up frustration in relation to studying, working and being able to juggle the two. 

“Normally the study doesn’t bother me,” Wes stated. “You know me, I love academia but everything is just piling up. I’m this close to breaking.”

“Wes, it’s fine,” Blaine said. “Or it will be fine. Yes, I know you and I know that you’ll handle it all spectacularly, ace every class you have and still have time to spare.”

Wes shook his head, smiling. He fiddled with the label on his beer bottle. “Listen to me rambling, I’m sorry. How are you? Sally said there was trouble with your boyfriend?”

Blaine flushed. He hadn’t really had a chance to talk to Wes about his relationship. They had both been working hard and Wes was a lot busier than Blaine was. He didn’t want to bring it up in conversation, only to have to lie to his best friend. He hated thinking about lying to him, let alone lying to his face. Wes didn’t deserve that.

However, Blaine couldn’t just tell him the truth, either.

“We’re fine now,” Blaine replied. “We had a silly fight and we’re as good as new.”

“Good,” Wes said. “What was the fight about?”

Blaine was saved from answering as his doorbell rang, indicating that the pizza had arrived. Both men took a box each and sat back down on the couch. They chatted about their jobs while they ate, not really getting into anything heavy, which Blaine was thankful for. 

After they had eaten, Blaine cleared the nearly empty boxes into the kitchen and grabbed two more beers from the fridge. He put the television on so they could watch the football match that was on and relaxed.

“You know, I was beginning to think I was going to have to set you up with someone,” Wes said at half time.

“Huh?” Blaine turned his attention to Wes, focusing on him.

“I’m just saying I’m glad you have a boyfriend,” Wes started. “I was getting worried that you were lonely… That you weren’t dating because of what happened with Michael.”

Blaine tensed a little. “No, it’s okay,” he said. “I honestly wasn’t even looking for someone. He just… walked into my life.”

“I’m glad he did,” Wes said. “Whoever this guy is. I want to meet him, mind. Anyone who can make you happy like this deserves a medal or something.”

Blaine threw a cushion at Wes’ head. “Hey! I resent that.”

Wes grinned. “I’m happy for you,” he said. 

“Thanks,” Blaine replied. “I’m happy for me too.”

After the game finished, Wes stood and gathered his belongings into his pockets. “I had better go.”

“Thanks for visiting,” Blaine said. “It was nice seeing you again.”

“You too,” Wes nodded. “Hey, you and your beau should double date with Sally and I some time. We could go bowling or go out for dinner.”

Blaine nodded meekly. “Sure,” he replied. “I’ll definitely think about it.”

Wes smiled. “Take care, Blaine.”

Blaine waved good bye and closed the door behind him. He leant against it and let out a long sigh. He pushed himself off it after a moment and cleaned up their empty beer bottles, thinking about what Wes had said about double dating.

In a perfect world, Blaine wouldn’t hesitate to double date with his best friend but he didn’t live in a perfect world. He despised that he couldn’t talk to Wes about how amazing his boyfriend was – how Kurt made him feel and how utterly in love he was. He knew it was the safest option, though. He couldn’t tell anyone for fear of losing what he and Kurt had.

Blaine had already botched it up once, he wasn’t about to do it again.


	11. Chapter 11

“Kurt, wake up, it’s Christmas!”

Kurt groaned and pulled his pillow over the top of his head. “Finn, go away.”

“But, Kurt, didn’t you hear me? It’s _Christmas!_ ”

Kurt peered out from under his pillow to see the time. The green lights of his digital clock happily in formed him that it was 6.53 am. Normally, he wouldn’t care about being up that early. In fact, Kurt was usually awake at 6.30 am most weekdays to get ready for his classes but it was winter break. That automatically meant he got to sleep in at least until 7.00 am. 

Apparently not on Christmas, though.

Kurt should have known better. It wasn’t his first Christmas with Finn in his life but after the stress of midterms, Kurt just wanted to relax as much as he could during the break. Especially since it was highly unlikely that he would be seeing Blaine at all. 

“Kurt,” Finn whined. “Aren’t you going to get up and see what you got?”

Kurt groaned and threw his pillow at his step brother. “I’m up.”

He slipped out of bed and pulled his dressing gown over his black silk pyjamas. He wrapped it tightly around his body and followed Finn down the stairs. 

Finn eagerly sat in front of the Christmas tree and Kurt walked straight into the kitchen to put the coffee pot on. If he wanted to function at all, he needed coffee.

“Kurt, Kurt!” Finn called. “You are awesome, dude! Thank you!”

Kurt smiled as he heard Finn’s excited voice. “You’re welcome.”

Suddenly, Kurt found himself with his arms full of his step brother as he hugged him. “I didn’t even know they _had_ Power Rangers on DVD!”

Kurt smiled. “It took me ages to find it but it paid off.”

Kurt had spent _weeks_ searching for online DVD retailers that sold the complete box set of Power Rangers DVDs and he finally found one in Japan after he had enlisted the help of Nick and Jeff. The pair had teased him about it when he said it was for Finn but seeing Finn’s face lit up like that was well worth the search.

“I got you something, too,” Finn said, tone a little shy as he held out a box.

Kurt took the wrapped parcel and set his coffee cup down on the ground next to where he was sitting and he unwrapped his gift. Inside was a gorgeous cashmere scarf and Kurt gushed as he felt the fabric almost running through his fingers like water.

“Finn,” he breathed, this is _gorgeous_!”

Finn beamed at him. “I knew you’d like it. It’s that soft material you always wear.”

Kurt felt his heart swell with pride. “It’s amazing thank you.”

He reached over and pulled Finn in for another hug. “I’m going to go plan an outfit that I can wear this with today.”

Finn grinned at him and Kurt took the scarf, and his coffee, up to his room to get dressed for the day. 

By the time he made it back down the stairs, his parents were up and the sound of presents being opened filled his ears. Kurt smiled and he rejoined his family in front of the tree as they exchanged gifts. 

“Kurt, are you making pancakes for breakfast?” Finn asked as he opened another gift. 

“Yes, I am,” Kurt replied with a smile. It was the one day a year that Kurt didn’t really mind what he ate. There was going to be turkey later in the day but Finn loved pancakes for breakfast on Christmas morning and it was something easy compared to everything else Kurt usually made on Christmas.

The door bell rang and everyone shared a confused look.

“It’s seven thirty,” Carole said. “Who on Earth is here this early?”

“I’ll get it!” Finn said. “It might be Mercedes.”

Kurt shrugged at his parents as he unwrapped his present from them.

“Dude, you have a parcel,” Finn said, emerging with a large basket in his hands and huge bunch of flowers.

Kurt flushed heavily as he realised everyone was staring at him. “Um, thanks.”

He stood and took the flowers from Finn. Carole immediately took them from him and headed into the kitchen with them. 

“Who’s it from?” Burt asked. 

“Uh, my boyfriend,” Kurt replied, avoiding his dad’s gaze.

“I want to meet him,” Burt said. “If this mysterious boyfriend of yours is able to get someone to _deliver_ on Christmas day, I want to meet him.”

Kurt nodded. “Okay,” he replied, trying to keep the dread out of his tone.

“Well, what’s in the basket?” Finn asked, looking at it excitedly. “I see Oreos! I call dibs!”

“Finn!” Kurt said, flushing again. “I’m going to take this upstairs to open.”

“But… pancakes,” Finn said, torn.

“I’ll be back down soon; I just want to open this in private.”

Kurt took the basket up the stairs and sat on his bed. He smiled to himself as he peeled the purple cellophane away from the basket as carefully as he could. As he unwrapped his present, Kurt’s mouth dropped open. Not only was there an array of different gifts in the basket, including a box of Kurt’s favourite chocolates, but there was a bound copy of Blaine’s new book that he had been writing. The one he had told Kurt that he wasn’t even close to finishing yet.

He pulled it out and opened the first page to see a note attached to it.

_Kurt_

_I know I told you that this wasn’t anywhere near completion but you have inspired me so much since we met that I’ve been compelled to write every single spare moment that I have._

_You’ve opened my eyes in so many ways and opened my heart in so many more._

_You’ve moved me to create this story and I want you to be the first one to read it._

_It’s dedicated to you._

_All my love._

_B._

Kurt smiled widely as he turned to the first page of the story and started to read. From the very first line, he was entranced by the story, the protagonist and how it all felt so warm and familiar. 

He was so engrossed in the story that he didn’t even hear the knock on the door.

“Kurt?” 

Kurt looked up, seeing Finn’s head peeking around the door. 

“Pancakes?”

Kurt grinned. “I’ll be right down.”

“Sweet,” Finn said. “So, what did you get?”

Kurt glanced back down at his gift basket. “Just something to help keep me warm this winter.”

“Like a new scarf?” Finn asked.

“Something like that.”

Finn left and Kurt tucked the manuscript into his bed side drawer for later. He left the basket sitting in front of the drawers and headed down the stairs to start on their traditional Christmas breakfast.

After they had finished breakfast, Kurt started preparing the turkey for dinner. He and Carole had spent the previous night getting as much organised as they could. Kurt had stayed up until 1 am baking cookies, nibbles and other things that Finn liked, knowing that their friends would undoubtedly stop by the day after Christmas. Especially Rachel since she didn’t celebrate Christmas as she was Jewish.

Kurt set the timer on the oven once he had put the turkey in it and told Finn under no circumstances was he to go anywhere near the oven lest their dinner be ruined. 

When he had a spare moment free, Kurt headed back up to his room to call Blaine.

“I can’t believe you put your manuscript in there!” 

Blaine’s laugh sounded like music to Kurt’s ears. “ _I had to. You were the inspiration behind it, after all._ ”

“I read the first few pages before Finn came in asking me when I was going to cook breakfast,” Kurt replied. “It’s amazing so far.”

_“I’m glad you like it, Kurt, it means a lot to me.”_

“By the way, _how_ did you manage to get someone to deliver _on Christmas day_?” he asked, bewildered.

 _“I delivered it myself,”_ Blaine replied simply.

“You did?” Kurt asked in disbelief. “Oh, crap. Finn answered the door, too.”

 _“I know,”_ Blaine replied. _“He’s really tall. Kind of intimidating but so clueless.”_

Kurt snorted softly. “That’s my brother,” he said fondly. “I can’t believe you came here and I didn’t get to see you!”

 _“I could hear you talking with your dad,”_ Blaine said. _“I’ve missed you so much these last few days.”_

“Come see me,” Kurt breathed. “Please?”

_“…Kurt, I’d love to but it’s too risky.”_

Kurt sighed. “You’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I just miss you too.”

_“It’s a bit disappointing, isn’t it? Our first Christmas as a couple and we can’t even see each other.”_

“I hate this so much,” Kurt said softly. “I just want to be able to see you and give you your present in person.”

 _“You have something else for me?”_ Blaine asked, chuckling again. _“I thought I got that the other day?”_

“You did,” Kurt replied. “But it doesn’t mean that I didn’t want to do it today. Christmas is meant to be magical, Blaine.”

_“It is, Kurt. We’re still together even if we’re not physically near each other.”_

“It’s not the same.” Kurt sighed and reached into the gift basket for the box of chocolates. 

_“I’ll make it up to you, I promise,_ ” Blaine said.

“Speaking of promises,” Kurt said, suddenly remembering his conversation he and his dad had earlier. “My dad wants to meet you.”

 _“What!”_ Blaine exclaimed.

“Oh. Sorry. Not _you_ , I can’t let him meet you but he wants to meet my boyfriend. I’m going to have to lie to him and someone else to get them to come over and meet my dad, pretending that they’re my boyfriend,” Kurt explained. “It’s going to be ridiculously awkward.”

 _“Would Jeff do it?”_ Blaine asked.

Kurt hummed softly in response. “He might… I’ll have to think on it.”

 _“I have to go. I’m sorry, Kurt,”_ Blaine said, tone sounding sad over the phone.

“It’s okay. Can I call you later?”

 _“Of course,_ ” Blaine replied. “ _Have a great day. I love you.”_

“I love you too,” Kurt returned. “Merry Christmas, Blaine.”

_“Merry Christmas, Kurt.”_

~*~

The expression on Nick’s face was one that Kurt had never seen before. He stared at Kurt and Kurt felt himself starting to squirm under the intensity of the stare. 

“The scary part is here is that you’re _serious_ ,” Nick said eventually.

“Of course I’m serious!” Kurt exclaimed. “I can’t do this with Blaine, Nick, it _has_ to be you.”

“I don’t like this at all, Kurt,” Jeff said. “You’re _lying_ to your dad.”

“I know but this is the _only_ option I have,” Kurt said desperately. “I can’t bring Blaine home with me! He looks like an older guy, then Dad will start asking questions and Blaine, being the sweet guy he is, won’t be able to lie and he’ll say he’s a teacher, which will all lead to my dad discovering that Blaine and I are actually together!”

“I’ll do it.”

“What? Nicky, think about this.”

Nick sighed. “He’s right, Jeff,” he started. “It’s either this or he doesn’t bring anyone home, which will raise more questions.”

“Okay,” Jeff said with a nod. “As long as you know what you’re doing.”

“I do.” Nick leant over and kissed Jeff softly on the lips. 

“You have no idea how much this means to me, Nick!” Kurt said, flinging his arms around Nick’s shoulders in a hug. “Be at my house at six tonight and dress nicely. Oh, and pretend you’re in love with me.”

“So, no pressure.”

Kurt gave him a weak smile. “I’ll see you tonight; I have to get some groceries for dinner.”

“Wait, should I bring anything?” Nick asked and he looked up at Kurt. 

“Uh,” Kurt paused. “No, I think I’ve got it covered… On second thoughts, if you bring something from the bakery on your way over for dessert, it will save me having to cook it.”

“Okay,” Nick replied with a nod. “I’ll see you at six.”

Kurt gave his two friends a nod and he quickly left the coffee shop, carrying his take away coffee and he headed for his car.

Six o’clock rolled around much faster than Kurt had anticipated and the doorbell rang, followed by Finn calling out that he would get it.

Kurt felt his heart beat faster as he headed into the living room to meet his pseudo boyfriend. 

“Hi,” Kurt said a little shyly, smiling at Nick. 

“Hey,” Nick replied. “I brought some doughnuts for dessert, I hope that’s okay?”

“Doughnuts?” Finn asked from behind them. “Can I have one?”

“After dinner, Finn,” Kurt replied, looking over his shoulder. “Come in,” he said to Nick, taking the box from him so Nick could take off his coat. 

They entered the kitchen a moment later and the moment he set the box of doughnuts down on the counter top, Finn had opened it. Kurt quickly berated him but it was quickly forgotten when his dad stepped into the kitchen.

Kurt felt his heart begin to race again and he took a breath. “Dad, this is Nick,” he started. “Nick, this is my dad, Burt Hummel.”

Burt gazed at Nick before holding out his hand to shake. “I thought you were with that Jeff kid?” he asked, glancing back at Kurt.

“He was,” Kurt said quickly. “They broke up at the start of the semester.”

Nick nodded, giving a tight smile. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr Hummel.”

“And this is my step-mom, Carole,” Kurt said as Carole entered the kitchen.

Nick greeted her warmly and Kurt felt a rush of affection for his friend. He was going to have to make this up to Nick _big_ time.

They sat down for dinner half an hour later and Kurt could feel the gaze of most of his family lingering on he and Nick every few minutes. He and Nick had sat next to each other at the dinner table and everyone made small talk, asking Nick how he liked school, and what he wanted to do when he left.

“I want to be a CIA agent,” Nick said honestly.

“Dude, that’s so cool!” Finn replied immediately. “You could kill people and stuff!”

“Finn, honey, can we not talk about death at the dinner table,” Carole said.

Nick smiled. “I don’t think I’d want to do that,” he replied. “I just want to be a field agent.”

Kurt shot Nick a grateful glance as dinner finished. “Thank you so much,” he whispered to Nick.

Nick just nodded. “I like DS games for my console,” he whispered.

Kurt just grinned. “Deal.”

They all migrated to the living room for dessert. Kurt made everyone a hot chocolate and Carole took the box of doughnuts and some tea plates into the living room too. Kurt made sure that he sat as close to Nick as appropriately possible, letting their thighs touch. He wanted to give off the impression that they were comfortable with each other without trying to make it like _he_ was the boy he had been talking about sex with just a few weeks ago.

Nick was behaving perfectly and Kurt was so glad that he had agreed to do this for him. He knew it couldn’t have been easy for Nick to lie like this either. He was just grateful that he had such good friends.

“We’re going to head up to my room,” Kurt said a while later.

“Door stays open,” Burt replied.

Kurt nodded and he and Nick headed up to his bedroom. Kurt pushed the door over half way and let out a sigh of relief. “This has been good.” 

Nick smiled. “Your family is awesome, Kurt,” he replied. “Your dad’s a little scary though.”

“Yeah, he thinks we’re sleeping together,” Kurt said, casually waving a hand in the air.

“What?” Nick exclaimed.

Kurt glared at him. “Keep your voice down!”

“Kurt. Your _dad_ thinks we’re sleeping together. _Us!_ This isn’t cool.”

Kurt sighed. “Sit down,” he said, getting comfortable on the top of his bed. “A few weeks ago, I asked dad about sex and he wanted to know if it was because I had someone _special_ but I said I didn’t. Then, Blaine and I… well, then he sent me this really gorgeous gift basket for Christmas a few days ago and now you’re here…”

Nick let out a soft groan. “Great,” he replied. “That’s why he kept looking at me funny, isn’t it?”

Kurt made a face and nodded. “Afraid so.”

Nick moved to sit down next to Kurt on his bed. “Forget the DS games, I want something bigger. You owe me _so_ much.”

“I know,” Kurt said. “Thank you again. For everything.”

Nick smiled. “What are friends for?”

Kurt gently nudged him with his shoulder and they settled to watch a movie on Kurt’s laptop.

A few hours later, Burt walked in, a frown on his face. They were still in the exact same position they had been before, so Kurt wasn’t sure why his dad was frowning.

“Have you looked outside lately?” Burt asked.

Kurt shook his head. “No… Should I have?”

“Snow storm,” Burt replied, nodding towards Kurt’s bedroom window.

Kurt scrambled off his bed and headed to his window. His mouth dropped open as he saw mostly white layering the street below.

“I have to get home soon,” Nick said as he joined Kurt at the window.

“Sorry, kiddo, but I can’t let you drive in that,” Burt said. “You’ll have to stay the night.”

Kurt’s eyebrows shot up. “Dad! Are you serious?”

“He can sleep on the couch downstairs,” Burt continued. “And I don’t want no funny business. I’ll be getting up to check on you both during the night. Call your parents, Nick, let them know you’re staying here.”

“Okay, sir,” Nick replied with a nod, fishing his phone out of his pocket to phone home.

Burt stayed while he made the call and Kurt shot his dad a worried look.

“They said it’s fine,” Nick said to Burt.

Burt nodded. “I’ll set the couch up for you.”

Burt left and Nick turned to Kurt, a panicked look on his face. “I was supposed to spend the night at Jeff’s…” 

“I’m sorry!” Kurt said. “Call him and let him know you got stuck here?”

Nick sighed and pulled his phone out again.

Kurt felt bad for listening in on the conversation but he could tell from Nick’s tone that Jeff was a little upset.

“Lights out in half an hour,” Burt said as he walked passed Kurt’s room again.

“Okay, Dad,” Kurt replied with a nod.

He walked down to the living room with Nick and kept apologising. 

“Kurt, it isn’t your fault there’s a storm,” Nick said softly. “Stop apologising.”

“I’ve ruined your night though.”

“There will be other nights, it’s fine.”

“Okay,” Kurt replied begrudgingly.

They said their good nights and Nick hugged Kurt tightly before settling down on the couch to sleep.

~*~

“Kiss me.”

“What? No,” Nick said, blinking.

“C’mon, please?” Kurt asked. “I can hear my dad shuffling around upstairs and in about thirty seconds, he’s going to come down the stairs and if you kiss me, just for a few seconds, he’ll believe that we’re a real couple.”

Nick sighed heavily. “I hope you realise this makes you owe me _so_ much.”

“Yes, I know, I know,” Kurt said in a rush. “Just kiss me but not too heavily because I don’t want him to freak out.”

“I’ve got it,” Nick said.

Just as Burt’s footsteps hit the staircase, Nick glanced at Kurt once more before leaning in to kiss him softly. 

Kurt felt all kinds of strange kissing one of his best friends. He had only ever kissed Blaine like this before and it was definitely… _new_. Kurt gently cupped Nick’s face as they kissed softly, standing in front of the coffee pot in the kitchen.

Burt cleared his throat and Kurt and Nick parted, both flushed. 

“Dad, hi!” 

“Good morning,” Burt said, eyeing them. “Can I get into the coffee?”

Kurt nodded and stepped aside, pulling Nick with him. “Nick is going to head home soon. He has some family things he has to do today.”

“Okay,” Burt replied as he filled his mug. “Drive safely, kiddo.”

“I will, sir,” Nick said. “I’ll call you later, Kurt.”

“Okay,” Kurt replied with a smile. “I’ll walk you out.”

They headed out of the house and to Nick’s car in the drive way. 

“Thank you so much again for this, Nicky,” Kurt said once they were at Nick’s car. “You’re an amazing guy.”

Nick grinned and winked at him. “I know.”

Kurt laughed. “I’ll see you at school in a week.”

“That, you will,” Nick replied, getting into his car. “So… When am I breaking up with you?”

Kurt bit his lip. “Give it a few weeks and I’ll tell them that it’s over between us.”

“Okay,” Nick said, starting his car. “You’d better lean in here and pretend to kiss me, I can see Carole looking out at us from the front window.”

Kurt rolled his eyes a little and leant over and pressed a chaste kiss to Nick’s lips. “Drive safely, lover boy.”

Nick chuckled and nodded, reversing out of the drive way with ease.

Kurt sighed and waved him off before heading back inside.

“Oh, Kurt, he’s so lovely,” Carole said as Kurt met her in the living room.

“Yeah, he is,” Kurt said fondly. “I’m making omelettes for breakfast, would you like one?” 

“I’d love one,” Carole replied with a smile.

~*~

“Shh, someone is going to hear.”

“Let them.”

Kurt wrapped his hand around Blaine’s tie and jerked him forwards, crashing their lips together in a heated kiss. Blaine’s hands quickly grabbed his hips to steady them as they slipped into Blaine’s office. Blaine paused to lock the door behind them and make sure the blind was drawn before kissing him again hotly.

“Missed you so much,” Kurt whispered against Blaine’s lips as he fumbled to undo the buttons on Blaine’s vest. 

“Missed you too.”

Kurt shrugged out of his blazer and let it fall to the floor. He yanked the last of the buttons open on Blaine’s vest and then immediately started on his shirt, uncaring that they were doing this on school grounds. He hadn’t seen Blaine since the middle of their winter break and he had got back to Dalton late the night before, leaving them with no decent alone time. 

Blaine’s mouth was hot against his own as they undressed each other, leaving their clothes in a rumpled mess on the floor. Normally, Kurt would pause whatever they were doing to neatly fold the clothes, or at least place them so they wouldn’t get wrinkled but he was too far gone to care. 

Blaine’s hands quickly plucked open his pants and started pushing them down just as Kurt had pulled Blaine’s shirt off his body, leaving the tie on. Kurt shimmied out of his pants and kicked them to the side. He quickly covered Blaine’s hands with his own as Blaine went to take off his tie.

“Leave it on,” he whispered, kissing Blaine again.

Blaine moaned and pulled him close, roughly kissing him again. Kurt’s hand immediately found its way into Blaine’s hair, letting his fingers slide through the curls. 

Kurt breathed in sharply as Blaine kissed his way down his neck, stopping every so often to linger on a sensitive spot. The sound of Kurt’s heavy breathing filled the room as Blaine worked his way down his chest, taking his time to lap and kiss at his skin. Kurt shivered as Blaine’s lips found his nipple and he automatically arched into the touch. He tightened his fingers ever so slightly in Blaine’s hair before Blaine moved on, kissing down his stomach.

Kurt blinked his eyes open when Blaine pulled down his underwear and he let out a strangled moan as Blaine’s lips immediately closed over the head of his cock.

Blaine looked up at him through his eyelashes, and somehow had still managed to keep his glasses on. Kurt found the image extremely hot and couldn’t help but moan his appreciation.

Blaine’s lips slid down over his cock, taking him in inch by inch. Kurt fought every instinct to just thrust into Blaine’s mouth. They hadn’t been together that long and had been sexually intimate even less and he didn’t want to scare Blaine off at all.

Hot sensations that shot through his body as Blaine sucked hard, hollowing his cheeks around him. Kurt looked down at Blaine again and knew that he wasn’t going to last long. Blaine pulled back and tongued the slit of his cock and Kurt shuddered, automatically thrusting into Blaine’s mouth. Blaine moaned around him and Kurt gripped onto the desk behind him until his knuckles turned white. 

“Blaine,” he whispered. “So close.”

Blaine hummed again and Kurt felt the warmth in his belly heating up. Blaine’s tongue felt like heaven against him and after a few more particularly harsh licks, Kurt shuddered once more, groaning as he came hard. He had expected Blaine to pull off but he had done the exact opposite, taking him in impossibly far as he swallowed around Kurt.

Kurt collapsed limply against the desk, panting heavily as Blaine moved to stand with him, wrapping his arms around his waist. He pressed kisses into Kurt’s shoulder and up his neck to his ear as Kurt regained control of his breathing. 

“You are amazing,” Kurt whispered, turning to face Blaine. “So amazing.”

Blaine smiled softly and kissed Kurt slowly. Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine’s shoulders, keeping them close. Blaine’s tie tickled his stomach as they shifted together and Kurt smiled, stroking it. 

“This tie looks fantastic on you, by the way,” Kurt said between kisses.

Blaine grinned at him. “Thank you,” he replied. “My boyfriend bought it for me.”

“Mmm, he has exceptionally good taste.”

“He does.”

Kurt smiled and kissed Blaine again, slipping his hand between them to take Blaine’s erection in his hand. He started to pump slowly, keeping his gaze on Blaine’s face the entire time. Blaine’s head dropped to rest against his shoulder as Kurt worked him, breath coming in short, little gasps.

Encouraged, Kurt moved his hand a little faster, enjoying the way Blaine’s breath puffed against his neck, the way his body reacted to him and the way that Blaine clung just that little bit _too_ tightly onto his hips. 

“K-Kurt,” Blaine groaned, flexing his hips into him.

Kurt gently nudged Blaine’s cheek with his nose until Blaine turned his head so they could kiss. He tightened his grip on Blaine’s cock, pumping a little faster. He knew that Blaine loved it slow but he could tell that he also just wanted to come already.

Blaine’s breath hitched shakily and he came hard over Kurt’s hand a few moments later. Kurt kept moving his hand as Blaine rode out his orgasm. He kissed Blaine softly across his cheek as best as he could while Blaine breathed heavily against his neck. 

Kurt lifted his hand and tentatively licked at Blaine’s come that was one of his fingers. He looked at his hand briefly before Blaine groaned and kissed him again. 

Kurt let out a surprised noise but kissed back heatedly. 

“That was hot,” Blaine whispered. “Watching you do that.”

Kurt flushed heavily. “I just wanted to see what it was like,” he admitted. “Since I haven’t tasted it yet.”

Blaine let out a soft whimper before leaning over and grabbing a tissue. “One day, we’ll be able to explore each other to our heart’s content.”

Kurt smiled shyly. “I hope so.”


	12. Chapter 12

Blaine liked to think that he was a rather ‘safe’ player in life. With the exception of being in a romantic relationship with a student, he always erred on the side of caution; his past making him a little bit reserved, to keep his cards close to his chest, to not let people in easily. Somehow, Kurt had managed to smash every single internal wall that Blaine thought he had and as he wormed his way into his heart. 

Blaine couldn’t bring himself to regret it though.

Looking at Kurt, just taking in his perfectly coiffed hair, his dazzling and oh so distracting blue eyes seemed to make everything _better_ to Blaine. 

Logically, he knew that that taking his senior AP English class on an excursion to the movie theatre might not have been the best idea. Movie theatres were somehow a little romantic in Blaine’s mind. It was possibly because he could never be one of those teenagers that could sit up the back, making out with their date for the evening. He would readily admit that he was jealous of the freedom that heterosexual couples got in Ohio. Things had changed a little over the years but not nearly enough for it to be seen as ‘acceptable’ for a gay couple to be one of those couples up the back of the movie theatre.

“Mr Anderson? Can we go in now?”

Blaine blinked and nodded at his class of students. “Regular theatre rules apply, guys,” he said. “You can sit wherever you want but I want you to be on your best behaviour, you _are_ representing Dalton right now.”

There were a few groans but Blaine waved his students on into the movie theatre and followed in after them. The class mostly grouped off together and Blaine kept his gaze on Kurt as he sat with Nick and Jeff.

Blaine took a seat on the same row but three seats away from them. He didn’t want it to seem like he was doing it on purpose. He balanced his popcorn on his knee as he flicked his phone onto silent, slipping it back into his pocket once he was done. He glanced over at Kurt, just enjoying the way the lighting from the screen illuminated his face.

Kurt glanced over and gave him a shy smile, raising his hand to briefly wave at him. Blaine smiled and waved back. He wished nothing more than be able to go join Kurt, to sit next to him, to hold his hand while they watched Baz Luhrmann’s _Romeo and Juliet_. It would have been perfect.

Instead, Blaine had to sit by himself, watching one of his all time favourite movies alone, with the love of his life _just_ within reach. 

The movie was just over half an hour in when Blaine saw something out the corner of his eye. He watched as Kurt got up and left the movie theatre and he frowned a little before figuring he must have gone to the bathroom. 

Blaine turned his attention back towards the movie theatre screen and almost jumped out of his seat when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back to see Kurt smiling at him and he slipped into the empty seat next to him.

“What are you doing?” Blaine whispered. 

“Sitting with you,” Kurt replied. “It’s okay, I’ve already seen where everyone else is and we’re definitely out of their line of sight.”

Blaine shuffled a little so he could see Kurt properly. “You’re going to get me into so much trouble,” he whispered but reached over to take Kurt’s hand none the less.

Kurt pressed a kiss to the back of Blaine’s hand and set them on the arm rest. “Just watch the movie.”

Blaine shook his head and quickly glanced around at his students. They were all, indeed, paying attention to the movie and not looking towards the back of the movie theatre where Blaine was sitting. 

“So, I was thinking I could come over tonight and cook?” Kurt said softly as the movie headed into its final fifteen minutes.

“Sounds nice,” Blaine replied. “What did you have in mind?”

“It’s a surprise.” Kurt grinned and pressed a chaste kiss to Blaine’s lips. “I’d better go.”

Blaine nodded and watched as Kurt swiftly moved back to his seat next to Jeff and Nick. 

The movie finished and Blaine stood as the lights came up, ready to usher his students out of the movie theatre once more. He let his gaze linger on Kurt for a few moments before calling out to a few of the boys that had decided they wanted to watch all of the credits.

Blaine dismissed the class from the movie theatre since they had arrived just before two o’clock and he headed to his own car to head back to his apartment to tidy before Kurt got there.

He didn’t have to wait long before Kurt arrived, letting himself in with Blaine’s spare key. 

“Hi,” Kurt said, setting the grocery bags on the kitchen table. 

“Hi,” Blaine echoed, pulling Kurt in close. “That was very sneaky of you today.”

Kurt gave him an innocent smile. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, sir,” he said before pressing his lips to Blaine’s in a kiss. 

Blaine let out a content sigh, squeezing Kurt’s waist a little tighter as they kissed. All too soon, Kurt’s mouth left his and Blaine sighed softly. 

“Want to join me for a shower?” Kurt asked.

“As tempting as that is,” Blaine said regretfully. “I have some tests I have to mark before tomorrow. You hop in and I’ll get these done before dinner.”

“Deal,” Kurt agreed, kissing Blaine once more before leaving the room.

Blaine pulled out the tests to mark and his trusty red pen and settled on the couch to get started. 

He had barely started when he heard Kurt’s melodious voice drifting through into the living room from the shower and Blaine grinned. He struggled to keep his attention on what he was doing, regretting turning Kurt down for the shower.

Giving up, Blaine set his work down and stripped as he walked to the bathroom.

“You sound amazing,” Blaine said, kissing the back of Kurt’s neck the moment he stepped into the shower. 

“Hey, stranger,” Kurt said fondly. “I thought you couldn’t make it?”

“Changed my mind,” Blaine replied, slipping his hands down Kurt’s wet torso. “I have this _incredibly_ sexy guy singing in my shower and I just couldn’t leave him alone.”

“Really? Do I have anything to worry about?” Kurt asked playfully as he turned in Blaine’s arms. 

“Mmm,” Blaine mumbled, kissing across Kurt’s wet neck. “Probably. He’s an amazing guy. I don’t think anyone can compete.”

Kurt’s breath hitched as Blaine sucked on a particularly sensitive spot. He felt Kurt’s fingers slipping into his hair a few seconds later before their lips met in a heated kiss. Blaine held Kurt close, slowly rutting against him.

The sound of Kurt’s panting filled Blaine’s ears as they frotted together. He touched every part of Kurt that he could, stroking down his wet back. 

“You are insatiable,” Blaine whispered, kissing Kurt lovingly. 

Kurt whimpered softly, slipping his hand down Blaine’s back, cupping his bottom. Blaine automatically thrust against Kurt at the touch and they let out twin moans. 

“I love you,” Kurt whispered as he came, clinging to Blaine.

“I love you too.”

Blaine came a few seconds later, keeping his hold on Kurt. They shared sweet kisses, just basking in each other’s presence as the water washed away their come and sweat. Kurt’s fingers gently carded through Blaine’s wet locks and he smiled. 

“We should get out,” Kurt said. “I have a lovely dinner to cook and a boyfriend to cuddle up with tonight.”

Blaine kissed him once more before nodding and shutting off the taps. “Do I get a clue what you’re cooking though?”

“Hmm, it’s food,” Kurt said as they stepped out of the shower to dry themselves off.

“Oh, ha ha,” Blaine replied dryly and Kurt just laughed. 

“You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Blaine opened his mouth to banter a little more with Kurt when there was a knock at his front door. Blaine frowned, wondering who it could be and he quickly pulled on a shirt and sweatpants.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” he said and Kurt nodded at him, shooing him away.

Blaine ran a hand through his still soaking wet hair and instantly regretted it. He wiped his hand on the back of his pants as he pulled open the door.

“No wonder he didn’t hear us!” Sally said to Wes. “He was in the shower.”

Blaine’s eyes widened. “H-hey, guys,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“Movie night, remember?” 

Blaine blinked. “Movie night?” he repeated.

“You forgot?” Wes asked. 

“No, no, of course not,” Blaine lied. “I just… I’m a little busy right now.”

Sally quirked an eyebrow. “Really?”

Blaine nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

Sally grinned and stepped into Blaine’s apartment before he could beg her not to. His stomach sank and he mentally cursed himself for opening the door. 

“This really isn’t a good time,” Blaine said, glancing at his two friends. “Really.”

“C’mon, Sally, let’s just go,” Wes said softly. 

Sally pouted. “Alright,” she relented. “But we want to meet him soon!”

Blaine nodded and ushered his friends back to the door just as he heard Kurt’s voice speak out.

“Who was at the door?” Kurt called as he exited the bedroom towelling his hair dry. 

Blaine’s eyes widened dramatically as Sally stopped and turned on her heel.

“I recognise that voice,” she said, giving Blaine a look.

“Oh.”

The room went silent as Kurt looked up at Blaine’s guests, still in the doorway of his apartment. He turned white and Blaine closed his eyes, feeling sick. 

“Blaine?” Sally said. “Why is Kurt Hummel in your house? Wet?”

“He… uh…”

“Wait? Kurt Hummel?” Wes asked. “Your favourite student from last year, Sally?”

Sally nodded and Blaine saw that she had her gaze trained on him. “That would be the one.”

“I thought you said he was a junior then?”

“He was.”

“Oh.”

Blaine swallowed thickly. “I can explain,” he said. “Just… shut the door. I can explain.”

Sally and Wes stepped into the room and Blaine closed the door behind them. He shot Kurt a worried glance, only to see his boyfriend return it with extra fear in his gaze.

Blaine perched on the arm of his couch before immediately standing again, realising that Sally and Wes were staring at him. He explained as loosely as possible that he and Kurt were together. 

“How long?” Wes asked. 

“Not long,” Blaine replied honestly. “We just… It just happened.”

“But you’re showering together?” Sally asked, glancing between them, clearly taking in both of their still wet hair. 

“Blaine, this is a felony!” Wes hissed. “You’re _sleeping_ with a student?”

“No!” Blaine exclaimed. “We… We’re not. Kurt was out of the shower before I was.”

“Hair product,” Kurt blurted out. “I have to have wet hair for my hair product to work properly.”

Blaine could see the scepticism on both of Wes’ and Sally’s faces but they didn’t say any more on the subject.

“This is over,” Sally said warningly. “You can’t do this to your career, Blaine, and you can’t do this with a student. You’ll end up in jail!”

Blaine sighed. “I know,” he replied. “I know. Can… can you both keep this between you? I don’t want it getting out that I have a student here…”

“As long as it ends now, Blaine,” Wes said tightly. “For good.”

Blaine nodded. 

“Blaine,” Wes said softly, stepping closer to him. “A student, really?”

“It’s not what it seems, Wes,” Blaine insisted. “We just clicked.”

“Even so, he’s a student, didn’t you think?”

“Of course I did!” Blaine said, feeling the hurt rise up in his chest. “It _just happened_. Honestly, Wes.”

Wes stared at him for a few long moments before nodding. “C’mon, Sally,” he said, tone even.

The sound of the door closing sounded extremely loud to Blaine and he immediately turned to Kurt, guilt flooding his veins. 

“I am so sorry,” Kurt whispered, wiping tears from his face. “I am _so sorry_.”

Blaine crossed the room and wrapped his arms around Kurt’s shoulders, pulling him in for a tight hug. “It’s okay,” he whispered back. “It’ll all be okay.”

Kurt sobbed softly, clutching Blaine’s shirt tightly. 

“This is it, isn’t it?” Kurt asked after a while. 

Blaine nodded numbly and pressed his lips against Kurt’s. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

Blaine cupped Kurt’s cheek, swiping tears away with his thumb. “I’m sorry.”

Kurt nodded and averted his gaze. “I’d better go then.”

Blaine felt his heart ache at the words but he knew it was for the best. Now that people knew, that one of his _colleagues_ knew about them, Blaine had to do the right thing. He couldn’t risk hurting Kurt for his own stupidity. He would never forgive himself if they got caught by someone else.

It was too good to be true, really, Blaine thought as he watched helplessly as Kurt gathered his things. 

“I guess I’ll see you around,” Kurt said softly. 

“Of course you will,” Blaine replied, trying to smile but he was certain that it was coming out like a grimace. 

They stopped at Blaine’s doorway, just staring at each other before Kurt made the first move and left. 

Blaine stood in the same spot for a long time after Kurt had left.

~*~

In his life, Blaine had thought that he had been through some pretty tough times. Getting beaten up so badly and having to change schools; losing his virginity to an idiot who only wanted one thing; and general homophobia had all taken their toll on him.

None, however, made him feel like he did after Kurt had left.

Even though he logically knew that they couldn’t keep going, that they _had_ to end things because people knew about their relationship, it didn’t stop Blaine from feeling so utterly heartbroken.

Kurt hadn’t been in class for the entire week after the incident happened. Not that Blaine could blame him, either. Kurt felt exactly the same way about him as he did about Kurt. It was bound to be hard for him, too.

Blaine didn’t want to ask Nick or Jeff how Kurt was in case either of them decided to turn on him and rat him out to the Principal. 

So Blaine settled for just retreating into his work, trying to focus on something that wasn’t thinking about Kurt. 

It proved harder to practice than to think.

Every single senior AP English lesson was hard. Blaine constantly wondered how Kurt was feeling, if he hated him, how he could speak to him without raising any suspicion.

Sally dropped by more and more frequently and even though they didn’t speak about it, Blaine could tell that it was right there in the front of her mind. He spent more time with Sally and Wes on an evening, which was both soothing and annoying at once. It was nice to be around friends but there was some kind of tension between the three of them that couldn’t be shaken unless they talked about it but that wasn’t going to happen. 

Blaine stopped sleeping as long in the evenings, only getting a few fitful hours if he was lucky. He lived on coffee and the occasional biscotti, feeling too sick to eat anything else.

His heart was breaking in his chest and there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it. 

He wasn’t even sure if the worst part was that he and Kurt hadn’t even ended on bad terms but that they had just _ended._

Three weeks after the break up, Blaine saw Kurt for the first time outside of class. 

He walked down the corridor to get to his next class and he stopped dead when he saw Kurt chatting with Nick and Jeff.

Their gazes locked and Blaine thought he was going to burst into tears. Kurt looked positively unhappy. He had this… utterly heartbroken look about him and Blaine wanted nothing more than to go over to him and wrap his arms around Kurt in a tight hug. He wanted to tell him that it was going to be okay, that they would be together soon. That he had started to look for a job somewhere else so that they could be together. He just wanted to _fix_ them. He felt absolutely miserable and pathetic without Kurt and once glance let him know that Kurt felt the exact same way.

Sadly, it didn’t stop his heart from aching so damn much.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read and commented so far. Thanks for sticking with me through my posting of this story. Yes, this is the last chapter, so I hope that everyone enjoys it as much as I did. ♥

“You don’t have to go, you know.”

Kurt looked up from his spot on his bed to see his dad leaning against the door frame. “Go where?” he asked, sitting up properly.

“To New York.”

“Yeah, Dad, I kind of do.”

“I’m going to miss you.”

Kurt felt tears pricking the backs of his eyes as his dad sat down on his bed and pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m going to miss you too.”

Kurt clung to his dad, trying not to cry uncontrollably. He had cried so much over the last few months, he couldn’t keep on crying.

Everything with Blaine had left Kurt feeling like he had a massive hole in his heart. He felt so _empty_ with every single thing that he did. 

Valentine’s Day had come and gone and Kurt had spent the day locked in his dorm room, saying that he was sick. Jeff had skipped English to be with him and they had stayed curled up on Kurt’s bed, and Kurt had cried the entire time, feeling like his heart was breaking all over again. 

Jeff and Nick had been extremely supportive and had kept Kurt company in place of many dates. He was grateful for their friendship, especially since he couldn’t tell anyone else about it. It was hard, trying to keep a calm and collected façade up but they saw right through it.

Telling Mercedes had been harder. She wanted to go beat Blaine up, even though she and everyone else in Kurt’s family thought that he had been dating Nick. Kurt made sure not to mention Nick in any of his phone calls home or weekend visits. He didn’t want to continue lying to his family. It hurt to lie to them and it had been eating away at Kurt’s conscience for a long time. He was just so blinded by love, by Blaine, that he had forgotten that these people _were_ his family.

The worst part was probably that he was still completely head over heels in love with Blaine and just wasn’t able to _do_ anything about it.

Going to class had been torture at first but slowly, very slowly, he had learned to ignore his thoughts, his feelings and the desire to just wrap his arms around Blaine whenever he wanted to. He threw himself into his school work. He wanted to get the best possible grades so he could leave Ohio and go to New York like he had been planning since he was a freshman. He needed to get out of Lima, out of Ohio and be the best person he could be – freely without any regrets or anything holding him back. 

“Hey, kiddo, it’s okay,” Burt said as they parted.

Kurt hastily wiped his eyes. “I know,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “I’m just being sensitive.”

Burt clapped a hand on his shoulder. “C’mon, you could use a break. Come downstairs with me and we’ll bake something together.”

“Thanks, Dad, but I have to study. I have finals starting next week.”

“Okay but I want you to take a break soon,” Burt said seriously. “You’ll give yourself a migraine if you keep staring at those books for too long.”

Kurt nodded, giving his dad a small smile. “Sure. I’ll be down soon.”

Kurt turned back to his notes, resting his book on his bent knees as he sat back against his headboard. He had just got back into the mindset of studying when there was another knock on his door. 

“Come in,” he said, without looking up, pen still moving across the page. 

A moment later, the bed dipped and Finn’s face pressed against Kurt’s knees. 

“Hi,” Finn said, sounding miserable.

“Are you okay?” Kurt asked, concerned. 

Finn picked up Kurt’s hand, threw the pen down and put Kurt’s hand in his hair. Kurt bit back a smile and gently rubbed Finn’s scalp until Finn’s eyes fluttered closed underneath the touch. 

“Finn?” Kurt prompted softly.

“When you go, who’s going to make me grilled cheese sandwiches?” Finn asked as he finally looked up at Kurt, rather than keeping his face pressed against Kurt’s legs. 

“I’ll come home, you know,” Kurt said gently, fingers still massaging Finn’s scalp. 

“It won’t be the same,” Finn muttered, frowning. “Mom doesn’t make grilled cheese sandwiches like you do and I keep burning the edges. You get them perfect.”

Kurt snorted. “You wear rose coloured glasses when it comes to my cooking.”

“Do not!” Finn protested, sitting up. “Seriously, bro, I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too,” Kurt whispered.

Finn shifted and Kurt suddenly found his arms full of his, rather tall and stockier than he was, brother. Finn’s face pressed into Kurt’s shoulder and he just held him tightly. Kurt gently stroked Finn’s back and whispered soothing words into his ears. 

“Can I stay with you tonight?” Finn asked. “I mean, we can stay up and watch movies and just fall asleep on the couch?”

“I’d love to, Finn but I have finals starting next week,” Kurt said apologetically. 

“But, that’s next week,” Finn replied. “You can take one night off, can’t you? It’s _Friday_.”

Kurt bit his lip and then nodded, relenting. “I can take tonight off,” he replied.

Finn beamed and hugged him again. “Awesome, you won’t regret this, I promise!”

Kurt smiled, unable to stop himself with Finn’s enthusiasm. 

That night, Finn fell asleep before Kurt did; pressed into his side on the couch with _Back to the Future II_ still playing. Kurt watched Finn sleeping, taking in the steady rise and fall of his chest as he slept soundly. 

It had been Kurt’s dream, his main ambition, to leave Lima as soon as he could. He had always felt restrained, held back by the town, by the people and by their narrow minded bigotry. He needed to get away to grow, to develop and to become the person he was meant to be.

He didn’t, however, expect to have found love, and subsequently lose it, in the same year.

Kurt also didn’t really want to leave his family. It had been him and his dad for so long, that when Finn and Carole had come along, Kurt had been apprehensive at first, as had Finn but once it was made clear they weren’t going anywhere, Finn and Kurt had quickly adapted and became the siblings they never had.

They had fought, like all siblings do, always over stupid things. Like Kurt wanting to watch America’s Next Top Model, while Finn wanted to watch Top Gear, or, as Kurt had found out the hard way, Power Rangers. 

When they moved, Finn and Kurt had to share a bathroom. Neither had been happy with it but it taught them a lot about sharing and respecting other people’s things. 

Finn, of course, had had a hard time dealing with all of Kurt’s products lining the bathroom counter. They had many arguments over who got what counter space and in the end, Burt had built a separate set of drawers for Kurt to keep all of his products in.

He didn’t want to admit it but Kurt knew he was going to miss living like that with Finn. After he had started boarding at Dalton, it had been a lot different; he was only there on the weekends and most of his products and moisturisers he kept in a cosmetic bag for easier transporting.

Kurt was really going to miss just sharing space with Finn.

Finn stirred a few minutes later. “Wasstime?” he mumbled.

“Shh, it’s only eleven,” Kurt whispered. “Go back to sleep.”

“Bed?” 

“Just stay here, it’s fine,” Kurt replied, guiding Finn to lie back down. 

“Mmm.”

Kurt pressed his lips to Finn’s head in a silent kiss as he fell back asleep. He sighed as quietly as possible, trying to etch the moment into his mind forever.

~*~

The following week passed in a flurry of stress, late night cramming sessions with Nick and Jeff (who really didn’t need it but it was always nice to study with someone) and an impossible amount of coffee consumed by the three of them. By the time his last final finished, Kurt was ready to scream in relief. 

He flopped face first down onto his bed and squashed his pillow around his head. He let his body sink into the mattress. He was still tense and he knew that the feeling wouldn’t go away until he got his finals results. It was a hard place to be in. 

Kurt was also class valedictorian and he had to prepare a speech for their graduation ceremony in just over a week’s time and he was nowhere near prepared.

“Kurtsie,” Jeff said in a sing-song voice. 

Kurt felt the bed dip and a moment later, Jeff was straddling his hips. “Galven, that had better be your phone digging into my butt.”

“What if it isn’t?” Jeff teased and he wriggled a little.

Kurt batted at his thigh with his hand but the angle was too awkward.

Kurt was reprieved a moment later as Jeff moved off and laid down next to him. 

“Are you okay?” Jeff asked softly.

Kurt shifted onto his side to look at Jeff. “Honestly?” Jeff nodded. “I don’t know.”

Jeff wrapped his arms around him and Kurt sighed and curled into Jeff’s embrace. “We should go out.”

“Huh?” Kurt asked.

“You, Nicky and I, we should all go out,” Jeff continued. “Finals are _over_ ; we should go party or something.”

“Thanks, Jeff but I’m not really in the mood.”

“I’m not taking no for an answer,” Jeff said. “Even if we just go bowling or something, we should go out. This week has been stressful for everyone.” Kurt snorted. “Don’t pull that face, it has.”

Kurt sighed. “What do you have in mind?”

Jeff just grinned widely at him and pressed a noisy kiss to his cheek. “Get up, Hummel, we’re going partying!”

Kurt groaned and buried his face back in his pillow. “Don’t wanna.”

The door opened and closed and Kurt looked up briefly to see Nick wandering in. He smiled brightly and gave Jeff a kiss.

“Kurt is being a party pooper,” Jeff said. “He won’t come out with us.”

“Kurt, it’s perfectly legal,” Nick explained. “It’s a youth gay bar. I’m the one who found it so it’s completely legal and best of all, completely safe.”

Kurt looked up again. “You’re not going to let up until I agree, are you?”

Jeff and Nick looked at each other then back to Kurt, matching grins on their faces. “Nope!” they both said cheerily. 

Kurt groaned and got up off his bed. “Fine. Give me an hour to get fabulous.”

Jeff cheered and Kurt rolled his eyes affectionately. He walked to his closet and pushed a few things aside immediately, trying to find an outfit that was both as fantastic as he was but also gave off an aura of confidence. Kurt needed to feel good about himself again.

A couple of hours later, Kurt, Nick and Jeff entered a club that had loud music, wild disco lights and lots of men dancing. Every single person on the dance floor was under twenty-one and the only legal adults around were the bouncers.

“Drinks!” Jeff cheered as they entered.

Kurt looked around, taking everything in. There was an upstairs level that mostly looked like a balcony, overlooking the rest of the club. He saw men pressed up against each other in various places around the club and more than a few kissing. He looked away, cheeks flushed and he followed Nick and Jeff to the bar to order drinks. There wasn’t any alcohol in sight but Kurt wasn’t fussed; he didn’t need alcohol to have a good time.

He accepted his virgin margarita from Nick and took a sip. It was nice, a bit different from what he was expecting but Kurt didn’t mind. He moved off to the side with Nick and Jeff while they all drank their drinks.

Nick took one of his hands and one of Jeff’s hands and led them to the dance floor. Kurt grinned as Jeff and Nick started dancing in the silliest of ways but he found himself joining in, uncaring of how he looked, too keen on enjoying the moment.

Jeff wandered off after a little while to get more drinks and Nick pulled Kurt close, dancing with him. It was probably a little dirtier than he intended but neither of them seemed to mind. 

“Looking forward to graduation?” Nick asked as the song changed.

Kurt shrugged. “I guess,” he replied. “I’m looking forward to moving to New York.”

“Have you spoken to Blaine recently?” Nick asked.

Kurt stopped moving. “I…” he swallowed thickly and shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”

“Are you going to?” Nick asked, his hands falling to rest on Kurt’s hips. Nick squeezed them softly in what he probably thought was a comforting manner but it just felt too familiar. Too much like Blaine. 

Kurt shook his head again. “I don’t think so,” he replied. 

Jeff returned a moment later and Kurt took his drink. “I’m just going to sit down for a minute,” he said and walked off before either of his friends could ask him to stay.

He took at seat at the end of the bar and purposefully ignored his friends’ worried looks. He sipped at his drink, letting the sugar around the rim dissolve on his tongue. 

Nick had a point. Graduation was soon and the least he could do was _talk_ to Blaine. 

He didn’t want to be rejected, though. He knew how he felt, and how deep his feelings ran for Blaine but they had been broken up for almost five months now, who was to say that Blaine felt the same way? What if he had found someone else? What if he realised that Kurt _wasn’t_ what he wanted any more? 

Kurt couldn’t handle that.

No, it was best that he get through his graduation and just leave as soon as he could. New York was there, waiting for him to move and Kurt couldn’t – he _wouldn’t_ – jeopardise that.

“Hey, fancy a dance?”

Kurt looked up to see a boy around his age standing in front of him. He wore a tight black tee and had a yellow glow stick around his neck. His hair was a messy, dirty blonde, and beads of sweat clung to his forehead. Kurt figured he had been dancing for a while. His jeans were a little too tight but he knew that was half of the appeal for most men. Kurt’s initial reaction was to say no but both Jeff and Nick had been insistent on everyone having a good time.

“Sure,” Kurt replied, setting his empty glass on the bar top behind him. 

He followed the other male onto the dance floor and let loose. He let the music take over and he swayed, moving to the beat with his nameless dance partner. Kurt closed his eyes as he moved, trying to push out any memories of Blaine that were seeping into his mind. He couldn’t think about him, it would just hurt too much.

The bass was loud and Kurt felt his heart beat in time with it. The lights flashed rapidly across his skin, coating him in an array of colours.

“You’re quite the dancer!”

Kurt opened his eyes again to see his dance partner staring at him. “Thank you.”

“Want to go out back?”

Kurt stopped. “No, thank you. I’m going to go now.”

The guy shrugged and Kurt wandered away, back to where Nick and Jeff were wrapped around each other, making out heatedly in the middle of the dance floor. Kurt sighed and tapped Jeff on the shoulder.

Jeff pulled away from Nick, who started to kiss his neck. “Nicky, stop, it’s Kurt. You alright?”

Kurt nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied. “I just wanted to dance with you guys again.”

“I’ll go get more drinks,” Nick said, pressing a kiss to Jeff’s lips before leaving.

“Dance with me, Kurt,” Jeff said, holding his hand out. 

Kurt smiled and took it, and let himself be pulled into a slow dance with Jeff, despite the fact that the music was anything but slow.

Kurt let Jeff’s arms wrap around his shoulders and he grinned up at his best friend. “Nick might get jealous…”

“Impossible,” Jeff replied. “We’re already spending tonight in his room, alone, so…”

“Say no more,” Kurt said seriously but still smiled. “Thanks for making me come out with you both.”

“Any time,” Jeff said, twirling Kurt. 

Nick came back a moment later and handed out the drinks. “We should go soon, it’s already two.”

Kurt nodded. “Last drink and dance.”

“I like the way you think,” Jeff grinned and he raised his glass in the air just as Pink’s “Raise your glass” came on. 

Kurt laughed as Jeff started to dance rapidly, hips and arms moving every which way possible. He sang along with the song, dancing with his two best friends, enjoying their last few moments in the club. 

By the time they got back to their dorms, Nick and Jeff were all over each other. Kurt shook his head and shooed them away.

“But, Kurt, I’ll give you kisses!” Jeff said enthusiastically. 

“No, Jeff, it’s fine,” Kurt replied. “You’re too hyper for me right now.”

“I just have _so_ much energy! That place was amazing!” Jeff said excitedly, a large grin on his face.

“I’ll take him in,” Nick said, pulling Jeff close. “Sleep well.”

“You too,” Kurt replied with a nod. He let himself into his dorm room and crawled on top of his bed without even bothering to take off his clothes.

That really was an amazing night.

~*~

Wednesday afternoon Kurt slipped his graduation gown on and let the material fall down around him. He stopped and stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. This was it. He was officially graduating from high school.

He sprayed his hair with hairspray again and drew himself up to his full height.

“You look handsome.”

Kurt turned his head, looking over at Carole. “Thank you,” he said with a small smile. “Aren’t you supposed to be outside with Dad?”

Carole smiled and nodded. “I am but he and Finn are talking football again and I wanted to come make sure that you were fine.”

Carole entered the bathroom and picked up Kurt’s graduation hat. She held it in her hands and Kurt stared at her. It made him miss his mom. She had been a great step mother for the past two years and even though she wasn’t his biological mother, Carole had wormed her way into his heart, just like he had done with her.

Even though they hadn’t really spoken since she stepped into his bathroom, Carole was welling up.

“Oh, Carole,” Kurt said.

She pulled Kurt in close, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered. “You’re an amazing man, Kurt. Your mother would be so proud.”

Kurt felt the tears spring to his eyes before they started leaking down his face. He pulled away and hastily grabbed a tissue to wipe his face. 

“Thank you,” he said after a few moments. “God, I hope I don’t cry through this entire thing.”

Carole shared a wet laugh with him and they both turned to the mirror to make sure their eyes weren’t all red and puffy.

“Do you have your speech ready?” Carole asked as she turned to face him once again.

Kurt nodded. “It’s on my desk,” he replied. “Thank you.”

“What for?” Carole asked, giving him a quizzical look.

“For being here,” Kurt replied softly. “For being the best step-mom anyone could ask for. For loving both my dad and I.”

“Oh, Kurt,” Carole breathed. She pulled him into another hug, holding him close. Kurt pressed his cheek against her shoulder and just let himself be held. He kept his arms around her in a long hug. 

“We’d better go,” he said after a few long moments. They parted and Carole stared at him with an adoration that only a mother could muster.

“Yes, we can’t have the valedictorian being late,” Carole chortled. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and looked at him with such pride in her eyes that Kurt felt himself start to well up again. 

“I’ll see you down there.”

Kurt nodded and Carole left. He headed back into his dorm room and picked up his speech from his desk and glanced over it once more. He hadn’t ever thought that he would be picked as class valedictorian, figuring that it would be Nick or Jeff or someone else in their grade but he was more than honoured to be it. He licked his lips, mentally reading his speech for the hundredth time.

“You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Kurt replied, giving Jeff a smile.

He leaned casually against the doorway and looked over at Kurt. “C’mon, tiger, let’s go.”

“Tiger, Jeff? Seriously?” Kurt quipped, raising an eyebrow at Jeff.

Jeff just grinned. “You love it.”

Kurt shook his head and pocketed his speech, ready to finally graduate. He followed Jeff into the Dalton events hall and Jeff took his assigned seat while Kurt sat up the front, ready to give his speech when called upon.

He glanced out over the crowd of people, easily spotting his family. He saw each of them smile in turn and before giving his attention back to Principal Gibbons. He waited for his cue and made his way up to the podium. He smiled nervously at Principal Gibbons and laid his cue cards out in front of him, ready to read from.

“I came to Dalton at the start of my junior year,” he started, feeling the nerves pool in his stomach. “It was a safe haven for me, as it has been for a lot of other students I know. As I got to know the school, the students and the faculty, I realised that it wasn’t just a safe haven. This was a place to pave the way to a better future for all of us.

“I look out at my fellow classmates today and I see future lawyers, doctors, architects, veterinarians, designers, police officers and at least two future CIA agents.”

Kurt looked out and saw both Jeff and Nick grinning back at him.

“Dalton has allowed each and every one of us to realise our true potential and has guided us all to aim for those goals,” Kurt continued. “As for me? Well, you’re looking at the newest intern for _Vogue_ magazine as a fashion writer in New York City.”

He heard a few cheers from his friends and family at this. 

“Whatever we choose to become, whichever career pathway we take, we can all know that if it wasn’t for the great educations we received and the inspiration given to us by teachers and fellow classmates alike, we probably wouldn’t have any idea of what we wanted to do or be.

“I just want to say thank you on behalf of myself and the entire student body here at Dalton. And to my classmates, we finally did it! No more blazers!”

Laughter and cheers rang out amidst the round of applause Kurt was given. He beamed and headed to his assigned seat, accepting the claps on the shoulder and half hugs from those sitting nearest to him.

There was another speech given by Principal Gibbons before he started to call out the student names alphabetically for everyone to receive their diplomas. He watched Jeff go up, smiling brightly as he always did and accept his diploma, pausing to have a photograph taken as well. 

Kurt headed back up a short while later and stopped to smile for a photo before he took his diploma and walked off the stage. 

After the last speeches were given, Principal Gibbons gave his congratulations and a loud roar of cheers erupted from the now-graduated seniors. Kurt cheered with them, unable to stop smiling. He found Nick and Jeff and gave them both massive hugs before being mobbed by his own family and Mercedes. He squeezed everyone tightly, feeling completely happy.

As Kurt left the school with his family to go out for a celebratory meal, he spotted a familiar head of curly brown hair, complete with the body and mind he had grown to know so well at the start of his senior year.

Kurt and Blaine’s gazes locked and he paused, just for a moment. Something unintelligible crossed Blaine’s face and before he could even process thinking about going over to see him, Mercedes’ hand slipped into his own and she started talking about something that Kurt was only half paying attention to.

When Kurt glanced back over, Blaine was gone.

~*~

Kurt was sure that he was damned to always have to climb the little steps to reach books on the top shelves at his favourite bookstore. Whenever he wanted a book, it always seemed like there were never any staff members around to help him. He sighed and pulled the little steps closer and climbed up on them to browse the shelf of books before him. 

After his graduation ceremony and celebratory meal with his family a few hours before hand, Kurt figured he’d get a little last minute shopping in at Village Book Shop before he left Westerville for good and headed back to Lima the next day. Sure, the store was only two hours away from him in travel time but Kurt wasn’t certain that he would feel strange about coming back and _not_ going to Dalton afterwards.

He was scheduled to go out with Nick and Jeff to one of their classmates’ house later that night for a party but Kurt didn’t feel up to it. He promised his two friends that he would at least attempt to go but he had a feeling that he would be texting them later on to say that he was just going to head back to Dalton to sleep before packing for the next day to move back to Lima. 

He had been sort of distracted the whole afternoon after catching a glimpse of Blaine. He had told himself that there was no use dwelling on the moment. If Blaine wanted to talk to him, he was sure that he would have called, or sent him a text or email or _something_. There wasn’t anything, though. He had been an official graduate for more than five hours now and he hadn’t heard a thing from Blaine.

It hurt a little, realising that Blaine didn’t want anything to do with him. He thought that what they had was stronger than that, that Blaine would _want_ him again. 

Kurt knew he would get over it eventually but right then, he felt entitled to hurt for a little while. Which was how he ended up in his favourite bookstore.

His fingers brushed passed a copy of _Little Women_ and he hesitated just for a moment. 

“I’ve heard that’s a good story.”

Kurt jumped a little, startled. He dropped the book he was holding and quickly stepped down so he was on solid ground.

The novel he had dropped was placed into his hands and Kurt stood, gaping at Blaine, who looked as handsome as ever. He quickly shut his mouth, embarrassed.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

“Don’t make a habit out of dropping books,” Blaine said. “One might land on your foot and really hurt you.”

“Of course,” Kurt replied immediately, nodding at Blaine.

“How are you?”

Kurt swallowed thickly. “I’m good… Uh, yeah, good.” He mentally cringed at how utterly stupid he sounded. “How are you?”

“I’m good, too.”

“Good.” Kurt closed his eyes at the response. “I’m sorry, that was stupid of me.”

Blaine chuckled. “Kurt, it’s fine.”

Kurt smiled, feeling the familiar ease settle in his chest at just _being_ with Blaine. He gave him a once over, taking in the vest and tie, the same tie Kurt had bought him for Christmas. He felt his heart thud a little harder in his chest at that realisation.

“So, you’re going to New York?”

Kurt nodded. “I am,” he replied. “I got an internship at _Vogue_ this summer. I start at the end of June.”

“I heard,” Blaine said with an easy smile. “Lovely speech, by the way. It was probably the most exciting part about that ceremony.”

Kurt chuckled. “It was,” he agreed. “Official things are always so boring. What about you, what are you doing for the summer?”

“I’m heading to New York to teach at NYU,” Blaine said. “Part time, because I’m still too young but it also gives me a chance to work on my latest manuscript.”

Kurt felt his entire body freeze. He focused on Blaine, trying to process what he had just said. “Y-you’re moving to New York?” he asked.

Blaine nodded. “I am,” he replied. “It’s a great job opportunity and the guy that I love will be there. He got an internship at _Vogue_ over the summer.”

Kurt’s world stopped. “I… you….?”

“Yes.”

“Blaine!” Kurt exclaimed, all but throwing himself into Blaine’s arms, kissing him with months and months of pent up feelings.

Blaine’s arms wound themselves around his middle, keeping him close. Kurt melted into Blaine’s touch and he kissed him passionately, uncaring that they were in a public place and probably scarring off the other store patrons. 

Blaine was going to New York. To be with him. He felt positively giddy at the thought. He pulled back, placing smaller kisses on Blaine’s lips.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Kurt whispered between kisses. 

“What can I say?” Blaine replied, arms tightening around his middle. “I’m in love.”

Kurt beamed. “I love you too.”

Blaine cupped his cheek gently and kissed him once more. Kurt felt the book drop from his hand and land on the floor with a soft thud. The world melted away and the only thing that ceased to exist was he and Blaine, in this moment, knowing that their future was perfect because they would be together.


End file.
